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/>.

Current Event #1

Facebook "Likes" Help Scammers

A young 7-year old girl who was previously diagnosed with Stage IV neuroblastoma has a picture that was leaked out all over Facebook. The image that is leaked shows the young girl in a cheerleading uniform with pompoms surrounding her. Her bald head is an indication of her chemotherapy treatments. The image was exposed on Facebook last year, asking for likes and support for the young girl. Truth be told, the image was about six years old. Both the young girl and her parents had no idea that the photo was released on Facebook and was being used to get likes. Her parents never even posted the image on Facebook.

Pictures that seek for sympathy, like the one of the young girl, are shown all throughout news feeds. These pictures could be used to merely boost the ego of a stranger. On the other hand, scammers and spammers may be using Facebook as a source of earning money. Thinking of it as a harmless act, when Facebook users see these images on their news feed they simply click the like button, thinking they have done a good deed. Little do they know that they have just given scammers some of their personal information that is connected to their page in the process. Scammers also use the images, to get a page more popular. This way, they could sell the page and earn money. There are various types of scams connected to one simple like of an image.

This article doesn't really have a connection to what we're doing in class. However, it has a connection to what was discussed in class freshmen year. We learned about the different scams that are hidden from us on the internet. There are some precautions that need be taken while surfing the web. Private information must be kept private and away from the hands of scammers.


This isn't really surprising, but it is still somewhat of a shock. I've always thought that those pictures that showed on Facebook were fake. I've heard of stories in the past of situations where the image turned out to be a scam. I'm the type of person who is constantly on Facebook. Now I know to be more careful with what I like on Facebook. It is just unbelievable how someone can just invade someone's privacy and use their picture for heinous acts. The parents of the young girl had no clue, until they were later informed by a friend who recognized the young girl. Online scams are an issue that needs to be addressed by the public. There should be ways to catch scammers easier and punish them.


The central idea of the passage is that there are scams all over Facebook and users must be aware of them when they are on Facebook. The author of the article describes the post shown on Facebook as, "Saccharin-sweet posts that sometimes fill your news feed [seeming] harmless" (Gross). The images that are posted on Facebook are most likely being used for "nefarious purposes" (Gross). It is mentioned in the article that the average Facebook user doesn't know any better. The scammers that are on Facebook try to target people who are more vulnerable. That is why users must be aware of the scams.

mkhmarketing. "Facebook Beachfront". Photograph. Flickr. Yahoo, 15 Mar 2013. Web. 20 Jan 2014. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/93212162@N08/8560618867>

Gross, Doug. "On Facebook, clicking 'like' can help scammers".  CNN.  CNN Newsource, 20 Jan 2014. Web. 20 Jan 2012. <http://www.cnn.com>

Obama blames 'bad apple' insurers for canceled coverage

Description: Obamacare
Date: November 13, 2013
Found at: http://nyulocal.com

This article is on the topic of Obamacare. The article stated that "the termination of individual policies has given his Republican opponents additional ammunition to criticize the program they have tried to stop since its inception in Obama's first term." Many people that were under Obamacare have been having their coverage cancelled or found their monthly payments beyond what they can afford.


Obama was seeking to assure people that the government was not going to take over health care, and that they could keep their old plan if that is what they preferred. He needed to do this because many people do not trust the government to make health care decisions for them. I think that people find it hard to trust the government because it is difficult for some government officials to relate to a common individual. Some think that the government doesn't really care or think about the average person. Also, the government tends to make drastic changes to certain things and it affects many people in a negative way.


It is not right for a President to be untruthful to get the public to accept something he sincerely believes is for their own good? The President shouldn't have to hide the truth at all. They are suppose to be leading a country. If you are untruthful your are demonstrating that it is okay for the citizens of your country to be untruthful.


Personally, I am not into government or politics. Some things about the government are just hard for me to understand. For example, this whole Obamacare thing. I have no idea what it is all about. Reading this article was a little confusing, but I understood the basic points. I think it is very beneficial to know more about the government because it could directly affect the future.

Article Link: http://www.reuters.com

Dogs Are People, Too

Gregory Barnes, a professor of neuroeconomics at Emory University, and some of his colleagues have been training dogs to go in an M.R.I scanner completely conscious and unrestrained. They were hoping to discover how dogs' brain works and what they speculate of humans. After training and scanning a dozen dogs it was concluded that dogs are people, too. Results from the M.R.I scans showed an astonishing

similarity between dogs and humans in both the structure and the key function of a key brain region knows as the caudate nucleus. The caudate plays a major role in the anticipation of of things we enjoy. Meaning, dogs enjoy some of the same things humans enjoy.

Description: Dog
Date: January 20, 2013
Found at: http://andreanotk.blogspot.com

Personally, I don't know where this whole research is going. I can't imagine dogs and humans being thought of as equal. I understand that there may be some similarities between dogs and humans, but there is still a fine line that separates humans from dogs and other animals. Dogs may enjoy the same things as humans, but that doesn't necessarily mean that we share the same emotions. I believe that humans have certain levels of emotion that dogs don't. I both agree and disagree with Berns when he states that, "DOGS have long been considered property." There are laws that are now set in place that protects dogs from things like abuse, just like how there is for humans. However, I also agree with the statement made in the article that said, "Though the Animal Welfare Act of 1966 and state laws raised the bar for the treatment of animals, they solidified the view that animals are things — objects that can be disposed of as long as reasonable care is taken to minimize their suffering."

Article Link:http://www.nytimes.com

Athlete Suspended For Driving Friend

Description: Drunk Driving
Date: August 19, 2011
Found at: http://www.nighttap.com

Erin Cox, a High School senior volleyball player, was suspended for five games and lost her position as captain of the team after she drove to a party to pick up a friend that was too drunk to drive. Upon arrival at the party, police were already at the scene arresting several people for underage possession of alcohol and warned others that they’d be called to court for drinking. Cox was among those that were called to court regardless of Boxford police officer Brian Neeley’s confirmation of Erin’s sobriety.


If I was in Erin Cox’s situation I would've done the same thing. I wouldn't want to just leave my friend drunk at a party or have her take the risk of getting into a car accident due to drunk driving. The school’s decision to suspend her from five games and strip her from her captaincy would affect her in a very negative way. Considering she was an athlete, she probably wanted to continue to play volleyball in college or earn a sports scholarship. Her suspension would lead colleges to believe that she is not the best candidate for their school or sports team. The whole situation looked really bad for Erin Cox. The article mentioned that, “Cox's mother, Eleanor, told the Boston Herald her daughter was among those summoned despite Boxford police officer Brian Neeley vouching for Erin's sobriety.” I don’t understand how Erin Cox was still punished and the police officers vouching for her sobriety was totally disregarded. Personally, I think any school would've done the same thing considering the circumstances around the situation.

Article Link :http://espn.go.com