Holocaust

Nazi Medical Experiments

At the time of the holocaust, many German physicians performed painful and deadly experiments on many concentration camp prisoners. The medical experiments that were conducted could be separated into three categories. The first category were experiments designed to assist the survival of Axis military personnel. To measure the highest altitude from which troops of damaged aircraft could parachute to safety, physicians in Dachau performed high-altitude experiments, using a low pressure chamber. In addition, many prisoners became victims of freezing experiments aimed towards finding a treatment for hypothermia. Prisoners were also used to test methods of making seawater suitable for drinking. 

The second category of experimentation was directed towards developing and testing medications and treatment procedures for injuries and illnesses.Scientist tested immunization mixtures and sera for the prevention and treatment of contagious diseases such as, malaria, typhus,tuberculosis, typhoid fever, yellow fever, and contagious hepatitis. Prisoners were exposed to phosgene and mustard gas in order to test possible remedies.

The third category of medical experiments were performed to improve the racial and visionary principle of the Nazi worldview. The most widely known of these experiments is that of Josef Mengele at Auschwitz. Josef Mengele performed experiments on twins. Mengele, along with some others, conducted serological experiments on Gypsies, in order to form a conclusion on how different "races" combated infectious diseases. The research was intended to recognize Jewish inferiority.

Those that the Nazi leaders considered to be racially or genetically undesirable were put through countless amounts of horrendous experiments, among these were sterilization experiments. Scientist tested their methods in their attempt to form an efficient and inexpensive technique for mass sterilization.


Raymond, Nicolas.  "Caduceus Grunge Symbol."  Photograph.  Flickr.  Yahoo, 24 April 2013.  Web.  20 Feb. 2014. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/80497449@N04/8677835416>

"Nazi Medical Experiments."  USHMM.  United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, 10 June 2013.  Web.  20 Feb. 2014.  <http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005250>.

Current Event #3

Bionic Arm Gives Hope To Amputees

The bionic hands that amputees use today cause them to not have any feelings in their arm. They could be holding a baby's hand without knowing whether or not they're crushing the child's hand or not. Prosthetics that are used today are not connected to the nervous system. Scientist have come up with a bionic arm that gives amputees the ability to use it like their natural arm. 

In order to make this possible, scientist found a way to connect the nerves to the end of the bionic arm. Sensors that are attached to the arm could detect and receive signals from anything it comes in contact with. A computer algorithm developed by the scientist converts the signal into an impulse that is capable of being translated by nerves. The wires from the sensors are connected to the amputees nerves; this allows the signal to be sent to the brain.

The newly developed bionic arm has been successfully tested but is not ready for commercial use. Scientist wish to make some more improvements to the arm. As of now, the arm is not portable and works with many external cables. This prevents usage of the arm outside of the lab. Additionally, the team of scientist want to enhance the sensitivity and feeling of finger movements. Essentially, the bionic arm is the first prosthetic device that is able to connect to the nerves. The device has yet to be tested clinically and peer-reviewed. 

Personally, I think that the improvements that scientist have made to the bionic arm are astonishing! There are many individuals in the world who are arm amputees. Could you imagine not having any sense of feeling in your arm? This would improve the lives of arm amputees. They would now be able to gain the feeling that they have lost in their fingers. Life would be much easier if they could use their bionic arm like their natural arm.

The author of the article supports their claim by comparing the currently used bionic hand to the newly developed one created by scientist. It states in the article "Current prosthetics do not connect to our nerves, so picking up an egg feels the same as picking up a rock" (Radihika). This shows the improvements made to the bionic hand and how much more advanced it is now. The author also shows how the new bionic arm would improve the lives of arm amputees by stating, "Imagine if you had no feeling in your hands...this is the problem many amputees face...[but] all this could be changing soon" (Randhika). The authors claim is further supported when the author declares this new bionic arm as, "the next breakthrough in prosthetics" (Randhika). 

BBC worldnews.  "Bionic Hand Restores Amputee's Sense Of Touch."  Online video clip.  YouTube.  YouTube, 6 Feb. 2014.  Web.  18 Feb. 2014.  <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6RJKvCc-tM>.

Case, Amber.  "Bionic Prosthetis."  Photograph.  Flickr.  Yahoo, 11 Aug. 2010.  Web.  18 Feb. 2014.  <http://www.flickr.com/photos/caseorganic/4883688638/in/photostream/>.

Radhika.  "Bionic Arms Gives Hope To Amputees."  Youngzine.  Youngzine, 16 Feb. 2014.  Web.  18 Feb. 2014.  <http://www.youngzine.org/article/bionic-arm-gives-hope-amputees>.

Current Event #2

"Pink, princess-y and sexy too soon"

Melissa Atkins Wardy reaches an epiphany as she goes shopping for her 6-month year old daughter's first sippy cup. She realizes a gender division between girls and guys in the toy aisle. Certain toys like building blocks or fire trucks were only offered for boys and toys like cooking sets were only offered for girls. This epiphany led to Atkins Wardy starting a business selling empowering T-shirts for girls and boys.

Atkins Wardy was hoping to address a major issue in today's society; the issue of gender stereotypes. Society has placed a definition on how girls should act and how guys should act. This gender differentiation leads to an even bigger issue; the sexualization of young girls. The princess culture and pink toys are always focused on fashion and beauty or how a girl can please someone else by either keeping a clean house or looking perfect. Kids grow up too fast by being introduced to adult concepts of sexuality. Young girls are restricted from developing on their own and expressing who they really are.

I could make a connection to this article and the book that I am currently reading, The Woman Warrior. The book describes what the Chinese culture is and what it's like growing up in that environment. In the book, the narrator talks about how the Chinese prefer having sons instead of daughters. There is a higher value placed on boys than there is for girls. Young girls are raised to be servants. In this article, it talks about how girls think they have to act a certain way because of the stereotypes. In the book, the young girls are, in a way, forced to live up to those stereotypes. Raised to be servants and have babies. 

This article makes me think of how I was raised. I rarely played with dolls or other toys that were classified as "girly". So, I was labeled as a tomboy. Now, I consider myself much more girly. Reading this article was definitely an eye opener. When I was younger, I was simply being myself; expressing myself differently from what society labeled as "girly". I have lots of younger cousins that play with dolls and other girly toys. Now I'm kind of concerned about the things they are being exposed to at a young age by playing with these toys. I don't want them to think they have to live up to what society thinks is "girly". They should be able to express themselves the same way I did when I was younger. I also don't want them to grow up too fast by being exposed to these things, as the article described. Being a woman doesn't mean looking a certain way or cooking, cleaning, and making babies. There is much more to being a woman. 

The article is written from the point of view of a mother of two. Throughout the entire article she stresses the fact that as a mother you wouldn't want your kids growing up thinking they have to be a certain way because of what society has labeled it. This impacts the overall effect of the text because you're reading the article from the point of view of a concerned mother. In the article it explains how the stereotypes "teaches children there is only one way to be a girl and one way to be a boy" (Warllance). 

To go more in debt and support this statement the author interviews the author of a book titled Redefining Girly. The author stated, "When you have a little girl like mine who is obsessed with the ocean and giant squids and insect infestations in homes, she's considered weird or odd or a tomboy when in fact, science and things like that should be considered girly" (Wallance). Another statement that has an impact on the text states, "I, along with so many other parents, am frustrated about the definitions of what's girly and what's not, and the separate products and clothing offered to girls and boys" (Wallance)

Wallace, Kelly. "Pink, princess-y and sexy too soon." CNN. CNN Newsource, 31 Jan. 2014. Web. 1 Feb. 2014. <http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/31/living/redefining-girly-melissa-atkins-wardy-parents/index.html?hpt=li_c2>.

Ло. "Donna wanna growing up!". Photograph. Flickr. Yahoo, 8 Dec. 2009. Web. 1 Feb. 2014. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/37167854@N08/4169829054/in/photostream/>.