Term 4 Or, The Ocean is like a Big River

Hello, Dear Readers
another term started last week for me, and the craziest thing is that I am not super stressed Yet. I am sure that before long I will be back to normal (read extremely high) levels of stress will be back, but for now things are going smooth. I have settled in to my new apartment, I am still getting back into the swing of early morning classes/writing, so this will be a short post.
Now as I sit in my hammock looking out at a inlet of a bay, it reminds me of the porch I would sit on in undergrad only then it was the Cumberland river and barges, now its the Caribbean Sea and sailboats/ships. Its amazing that my mind made a 2,324.62 mi connection (I looked it up) but I am sure that if I asked around almost everyone would have something that reminded them of a simpler time in there life. but then again I might just be a bit odd, but I can't be the only person who sits on their porch and listens to sad bluegrass and folk music but maybe that's just the Tennessee in me...
TTFN
P.S. for all the people who read this in the states it's 80 degrees F as I write this.

 

What To Write Or, There is a group for that.

Hello Dear Readers,
I don't think that in all my time at school, I have ever truly be afflicted with a writing block. But after the last two post being sub par, plus the skipped week, and now I still have nothing to write about. In some ways this is because I am trying very hard not to get kicked out of vet school, in other ways it is because every 5 seconds something studying, assignments, study buddy, class, lab, food, sleep, and the all consuming metric ton of groups that term 3 forces you to schedule times to meet with around an already bonkers schedule. Since the groups are all randomly assigned no one has the same lab times, which then means that Thursday mornings (which have been left open for the research group) are absurdly busy with running around trying to meet with groups, advisers, professors, other groups, then class starts at 1:30 so it's a very limited window that demands my attention. It's gotten to the point where I will turn my phone off so that I can study without getting immediately desecrated by the latest group trying to figure out a time to meet (Thursday at 9?) or figuring out what the next step in the group project is. Do not take this the wrong way I am in some of the best groups of people, groups where everyone is trying to pull there own wight and help anyone is struggling, which is also what I try to do in the rare instant that I might hold some small nugget of knowledge or understanding that has escaped one of my classmates, anyway hopefully I will figure out some great secret of the universe to share with you in two weeks TTFN my friends.

 

The Tingler Or, My Tell Tale Heart.

Hello Dear Readers,
It's been longer then I would have liked it to have been, however I felt like I needed to focus on my schooling for midterms but now that is over with and I can finally talk (again) about my love of Fall, and Halloween time especially. You see it's got the best movies and music and it's just the right mix of spooky and fun, The Tingler is a perfect example of a "scary" campy 1959 Vincent Price movie that if you have watched, makes a perfect segue to what I really want to talk about (if you haven't seen it then now is probably the best time ever to go and watch it... No really go watch it and then you will know what this weeks post is about... the words will still be here waiting for when you get back...). Okay so now that you have seen The Tingler you know that I am talking about Fear this week, because last week I was terrified and if I am honest I have been terrified since starting vet school, it's not a constant fear thank God I would be dead by now (spoiler) just like the people in The Tingler who could not scream I would be have died of My fear.
You see My fear all starts with that little voice of doubt whispering though the wind that I am going to mess up, that no matter how long and hard I study, no matter how meany times I talk to people about better ways to learn, or how meany people come up to me and say that "you've got this" That in the end I will fail. (It's here that I feel based on previous responses to my posts that I know that I am not stupid and that I am more then likely Not destined to fail, and I remind myself about this fact almost every day) My fear is two fold, I want to be a good Vet (or if I do fail I want to be good at whatever I end up doing) and I am afraid that I won't be good, pretty straight forward right. The 2nd thing I am afraid of any kind of failure at all, and I know those are the same... maybe but for me they are different. So taking test has been necrotic to my Nerves, I used to be a mostly calm test taker who only got nervous about the big stuff, well now everything is big and the pressure is getting to me.
I mean anytime I am in a high pressure situation I get nervous which is not a bad thing on its own, I even get nervous when I am about to go racing after I have been away from it for any meaningful amount of time, but that is more of a excited man I hope I can still drive fast kind of nervous. however Tests which used to lead to a healthy amount of nerves, now only lead to Fear, 
I am afraid, and if it wasn't for God, friends and family, then I would probably would have no hope moving forward as happy and as confident as I am, I just want everyone to know that when you see me standing around before or after a test happy as can be, It's not that I am full of confidantes in my self, It's mostly Doubt, It's not at I am not scared, because I am Terrified. The Reason I can look so calm on the outside is because I know for a fact that no matter the twist and turns my life may take it's all going to be alright in the end...TTFN 

(P.S. Sorry that this post seems so scatted I just finished my last midterm) 

 

That Time Already Or. Ethical Dilemma's

Hello Dear Readers,
I'm just going to jump right in with, I couldn't think of anything to write. And I know that I have two weeks to think of something, but those are also still two weeks of Vet School term 3, which really keeps me busy trying to not fall to far behind in any one subject while prepping for whatever test I have coming up (there are a lot) so instead of me just cutting this post short I am going to present my Ethics paper for your reading pleasure? (sure why not) and some photos because I can.

TTFN and sorry for not having something more pertinent if I think of something I will make a post next week.

Cloning for the purpose of de extinction: an ethical dilemma

The bucardo became an extinct species in 2000, in 2003 the last bucardo was born and died of respiratory failure minutes after birth (Choi, 2009). This singular case brings the ethical dilemma of de-extinction with its various avenues and rabbit holes. However, the purpose of this paper is to explore what the ethics of de-extinction are today, and what the ethics of de-extinction might be one day; by looking at the welfare of the animals involved. As in case mentioned above, if de-extinction were to become a viable process, what would the effects be on animal conservation, what would the impact on the environment be when releasing cloned animals and what changes in legislation would be required.

The process of de-extinction has several steps starting with sequencing the animal’s complete genome and ending with the implantation of a fertilized egg in to a surrogate dam. These processes are, for the most part, out of the scope of this paper, however, the last step is of great importance and is the beginning of the animal welfare issues. Evaluation of animal welfare will use the 5 freedoms 1) no anxiety, 2) behavior is to be normal, 3) to be comfortable, 4) free of disease, pain or injury, 5) have energy from food and water. (Kirwan, 2018, p1) The act of implantation causes the surrogate to lose three of its five freedoms; the freedom from fear and distress, the freedom of normal behavior and the freedom from pain and injury.  Most animals that are proposed for de-extinction have no domestic relatives, so in the act of tranquilizing, moving, and handling the surrogate is exposed to mental suffering; this is the loss of freedom from distress.  The freedom to normal behavior is loss by having to care for the fetus of a different species; therefore, that animal is being deprived of its normal behavior. Undue pain or injury caused by the pregnancy and parturition is the final loss “Cows and ewes used as surrogates for SCNT-derived pregnancies appear to be at increased risk of late gestational complications” (U.S. FDA, p, 199) (somatic cell nuclear transfer, SCNT is a method of cloning). Care of the surrogate is of the highest quality; however, it is currently impossible to complete the task with out compromising the before mentioned freedoms.

What of the offspring? What would its welfare look like? “There is an increased risk of mortality and morbidity in perinatal calf and lamb clones” (U.S. FDA, p, 199). Even with a high quality of care this seems to negate the freedom from pain. What happens to the welfare of the cloned animals once born and healthy? There is a very limited gene pool to pull from, the process of inbreeding would only be viable to an extent (Choi, 2009), so cloning and genome sequencing would need to continue.

If de-extinction were to become a viable process, there could be a fundamental shift in thinking about how to conserve endangered species. The possibility of cloning for the protection of endangered species is already being considered one of the better options available; “Conservationists in Brazil are poised to try cloning eight animals that are under pressure” (Coghlan, 2012). However, there are problems with this way of thinking, consider the Mammuthus primigenius one of the more popular de-extinction candidates; a 10,000-year-old woolly mammoth carcass that preserves muscle tissue the color of fresh meat (Wong, 2013). Consider the welfare of the cloned woolly mammoth, while in captivity its’ shelter, food, and water would be provided for, as well as the freedom from pain and injury. Nevertheless, the freedom to normal behavior, and freedom from metal suffering is not guaranteed. Now consider the mammoths welfare if it were reestablished as a wild species. Think of the welfare of the native intact species. The mammoths could presumable maintain normal behavior, and might also be free from mental suffering, there should be food, water and shelter. Still the environment has changed, “evidence reveals that current warming is occurring roughly ten times faster than the average rate of ice-age-recovery warming.” (NASA, 2018), which would lead to the loss of normal behavior and could create fear and distress, it could also lead to pain or disease. Three of the freedoms are potentially compromised for the mammoth, which might or might not be the case in the real world. Considering the impact on the native species there are invasive species models which could help shed some light on their welfare if mammoths were introduced; “Many species are limited primarily by food availability and secondarily by density-dependent factors” (Lohr, 2017 p.3), showing that they could impact the supply of food, the quality of shelter and the normal behavior of animals. There is also the potential for physical harm to humans. There is also a small possibility that through the cloning process unknown viral DNA could be copied leading to a viral outbreak in livestock, exotics, companion animals, or even humans. This is a very unlikely outcome, but all possibilities need to be considered. Another possibility is that the reintroduction of the wooly mammoth could help the environment (Mann, 2018) making it an important ecologic species.

Currently de-extinction and animal cloning have no federal laws. Rather, de-extinction has a set of guidelines laid out by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Cloned animals used for food have a set of health guidelines that need to be adhere to. For example, if the dodo bird were brought back, and subsequently domesticated in the U.S. using an entirely cloned population for the production of meat and eggs for human consumption; there would be a required health check to insure quality of the products. If the animal did not meet FDA standards for human consumption then they would, like non cloned animals, be used in animal feeds. “No animal feed risks unique to clones were identified in the Risk Assessment” (U.S. FDA, 2008, p.3). Now reflect on human cloning and the field which is more associated with the genetic manipulation processes of de-extinction eugenics, which also have limited laws and regulations. Currently Australia has very strict laws allowing only curtain licensed individuals to perform certain parts of the process but never to complete a human clone; “Offense—placing a human embryo clone in the human body or the body of an animal” (AU, NHMRC, 2017 p7). The U.S. has no federal laws banning cloning, only sanctions on government spending in the areas of human cloning. However there are no such sanctions for animal cloning. Revive and restore a non-profit organization, and one of the largest de-extinction groups is based on charitable donations and not government funding, thus circumventing the limitations of government funding. (“Lour, 2018). Still once an extinct species has been successfully cloned it could come under the endangered species act, and thus government protection and taxpayer money, or they might be classified as invasive (IUCN SCC, 2016, p17). The lack of federal laws in the U.S. leaves it to states to regulate human cloning. The lack of laws means cloning is essentially an open field where abuse of processes and techniques designed for de-extinction being used in human cloning is a very real possibility. Having the partial genome for a person could lead to the cloning of historic figures, although unlikely, as current cloning techniques would allow for the cloning of those living as well as the recently deceased, albeit with many failed attempts. It is this fact which has kept full human cloning from being attempted as it would be unethical to have hundreds of failed attempts. Just as the de-extinction process calls for the use of hundreds of surrogates, 208 embryos were implanted for the cloning of the bucardo, 7 goats became pregnant and of those 1 made term (Choi, 2009), while these are only animals there is still an ethical dilemma that faces those seeking the return of extinct species.

De-extinction is mostly still theoretical in nature, with the single exception of the bucardo. As such the ethics are still only mostly theoretical as well. Yet the current state is only for today. Looking forward as de-extinctions techniques evolve and change, so will the ethical issues surrounding it. The facts remain the same, some species have become extinct, whether due to environmental changes or the effects of the human population, makes no difference to the extinct species. A dead animal no longer requires welfare, so we should instead focus on the task of preserving the welfare and lives of living animals, and the welfare of the animals used as surrogates.  “UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not.” (Seuss, 1971).

References:

Choi, Charles Q. “First Extinct-Animal Clone Created.” National Geographic, 10 Feb. 2009, www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2009/02/news-bucardo-pyrenean-ibex-deextinction-cloning/.

Seuss, Dr. The Lorax. New York: Random House, 1971.

“Our Supporters.” Revive & Restore, 19 Mar. 2018, reviverestore.org/our-supporters/. https://reviverestore.org/our-supporters/

 

Kirwan, A.P. (2018) Ethics in Veterinary practice, St. George’s University.

United States, FDA, “Animal Cloning: A Risk Assessment.” Animal Cloning: A Risk Assessment, Center for Veterinary Medicine, U. S. Food and Drug Administration, Department of Health and Human Services, 1 Aug. 2008. www.fda.gov/downloads/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/AnimalCloning/UCM124756.pdf. 

Coghlan, Andy. “Brazil Aims to Clone Endangered Animals.” New Scientist, New Scientist, 12 Nov. 2012, www.newscientist.com/article/dn22493-brazil-aims-to-clone-endangered-animals/. 

Wong, Kate. “Can a Mammoth Carcass Really Preserve Flowing Blood and Possibly Live Cells?” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 30 May 2013, www.nature.com/news/can-a-mammoth-carcass-really-preserve-flowing-blood-and-possibly-live-cells-1.13103. 

NASA “Climate Change Evidence: How Do We Know?” NASA, NASA, 8 Aug. 2018, www.climate.nasa.gov/evidence/.  

Lohr, Cheryl A., et al. “Modeling Dynamics of Native and Invasive Species to Guide Prioritization of Management Actions.” Ecosphere, vol. 8, no. 5, 15 May 2017, doi:10.1002/ecs2.1822. 

Mann, Paul. “Can Bringing Back Mammoths Help Stop Climate Change?” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 14 May 2018, www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/can-bringing-back-mammoths-stop-climate-change-180969072/.

United States, FDA, “Guidance for Industry Use of Animal Clones and Clone Progeny for Human Food and Animal Feed” Guidance for Industry Use of Animal Clones and Clone Progeny for Human Food and Animal Feed, Center for Veterinary Medicine, U. S. Food and Drug Administration, Department of Health and Human Services, 15 Jan. 2008 https://www.fda.gov/downloads/AnimalVeterinary/GuidanceComplianceEnforcement/GuidanceforIndustry/UCM052469.pdf

 

Australia, (NHMRC) National Health and Medical Research Council,“Prohibition of Human Cloning for Reproduction Act 2002.” Prohibition of Human Cloning for Reproduction Act 2002, 21 Sept. 2017. www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2017C00306. 

IUCN SSC (2016). IUCN SSC Guiding principles on Creating Proxies of Extinct Species for Conservation Benefit. Version 1.0. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN Species Survival Commission https://portals.iucn.org/library/sites/library/files/documents/Rep-2016-009.pdf

If I Go Crazy, Or My own Little Night Time

Hello Dear Readers, today will be a short one so let's just jump in.
This last week has been a extremely rough one for me, having two hard exams and a final today, between all of that sleeping and eating get all out of wack which leaves one feeling drained, tired, sleep deprived, ready for a beak where I don't have to study like a crazed mongoose fighting a cobra. Now let the record show that no one, and I mean no human ever in the history of the veterinarians has said that vet school would be easy, however what everyone fails to mention is why vet school is so hard, and while there is a answer to this question it like most vet work depends on the history. everyone struggles in vet school it doesn't matter if it has to do with classes, stress, personal, or some other problem. The impotent thing is that this happens to everyone at some point in vet school, it is how people deal with this moment of highest struggle that shows how great of a Vet you could be (or whatever other career path you choose), I have struggled with a lot in vet school but every time it happens I try to learn and better myself though the struggles.

I know that things get crazy, but that's okay since I am already a bit crazy. TTFN

Monsters, Or MIDTERMS, or monsters

Hello Dear Readers midterms start on Friday,  so I will not have a post next week, and this weeks post will probable be a bit odd, and a bit harsh. First this weeks post is a day late and interestingly enough it is not because I forgot, or because something came up, it is because I had to change what I was writing about. I felt that I should not write angry, so I gave myself a night to cool down and think about this post.

I have always liked the Crypto's like Bigfoot, Loch ness, and Mothman. I have always enjoyed the ability for everyone to be right when it comes to potentially fake or real creatures since there are no wrong answers, unfortunately not all monsters are so easy to come up with answers for. I have struggled for years with a monster, a monster that I have never talk about, or wanted to talk about, or even wanted to acknowledge. Since I started school (1st Grade) I have struggled with spelling, grammar, and hand writing, when I was younger I learned to read by memorizing the shape of words, words! Now I did eventually learn to read properly, but my spelling was still a non-existent and my hand writing was extremely shaky. High school rolled around and by then I had figured out that I could write legible, however it took time and even though though the years I have gotten faster, it's still not a normal writing speed, I can write at a normal speed but it is not very pretty with a mix of cursive and print. Even today I still just struggle with spelling , yes I am far far better then I once was, it is still a struggle especially when I get stressed. The worst part is how hard I try, I try so very hard to write clearly and spell correctly, and most people are nice enough with me but I still see people judging me, I know that people think I am just being lazy, or that I am stupid, and it's just so much easier to let people think whatever they want to about me. Because those people don't understand how terrible it feels when you are writing something and  you are just stopped dead by having the word you are just about to write disappear from your mind, or worse you write it and realize that you misspelled it but can't figure out how to spell it correctly and your forced to change your wording. I like writing but I have avoided any type of writing in front of people for basically my whole life, I get extremely self conscious about it which only makes my writing and spelling worse. So I just want everyone to know that I am not stupid, and I am not that lazy, I just wanted people to know something about me and to get this off my chest. Also Bigfoot is a giant ground sloth, I will talk to you all again in two weeks. TTFN

 

To Quiet, Or Back to the Rock

I am back at school trying to do my best to stay on top of the work load, and get used to the new apartment.
The term is starting off like a big storm, that is to say that things are far to quiet, with our anatomy goats somewhere between Grenada and Jamaica, lab has been delayed for now but we will have to make up for this lost time which will probable be about the same time that the two quizzes a week start.
However, life is not all doom and preparing for doom, the new apartment is very nice other then the internet which is fairly spotty right now, but the hammock-ing life is very good and relaxing. So far I have had one week of classes and I don't have to much to talk about yet but I do have a couple of good pictures so take a look and maybe I will have a more stuff to talk about NEXT week till then close the shutters, go to your hidey hole to make it this storm. TTFN   

I Hate Cliffhangers Or, What Happens Next

Well Dear Readers I know that I said I would not post again this year, but I have some good news I have unofficially passed term 1 (finely) thanks to Gods grace.
And that's it really I just wanted to let you know that you will be hearing more from me. Oh and if you ever felt like "man i really like this stupid blog, but i really wish there was a way that i could show the world just how much i like it", then  you can stop yelling about it and just check out my redbubble account (I have had this account for about a year and it has all the crazy little designs I make as stress relief, Please don't think I am trying to sale you stuff, but i am a bit, sorry) . also I will include some samples here let me what you think or don't its up to you. TTFN And Marry Christmas
https://www.redbubble.com/people/underdogracing?ref=account-nav-dropdown&asc=u

Island House Hunter Or, Time after Time

Hello Dear Readers, This last week was a slow one thank God, and this upcoming week we get Wednesday off for Thanksgiving? (I know it's a bit weird that it's before Halloween but I am sure that all the stores in the US already have Christmas stuff out). Last week was also strange because I did pass all my midterms, so I was remembering last term, and also how this time last year I was still in undergrad (Let's Go Peay), it's just crazy to think about that not that long ago I was still just trying to pass the ACT's and now I am Here! Which just blows my mind (I have to do the math every time I have to tell people how old I am... 24).

So changing Gears, me and my roommates are getting an apartment, and it's very nice. Now finding a apartment on the Island is a bit different since most of the landlords live off island, so it's a lot of back and forth emails which can get really irritating when things change on you and you have to email the realtor, so they can email the landlord so we can figure out how much money we need to get together. but at least the property manager is super cool, to be far this place is very nice and from what we where told it's had a string of bad renters so I can kind of understand why the landlord is being weird.

Sorry Readers I just read back though this post and it feels more disjointed then usual so let me clarify I am actually not stressed out about vet school for the first time since starting vet school, it is not that it's some how easier now it's just that I am passing classes, and I final feel like hey I do belong here, I can do this whole Vet school thing.
This weeks lesson is that everything looks so much more beautiful when you are actually looking. TTFN