Finding the End to Genetic Diseases :: Genetics Science Genes Health Essays

The United States has a very diverse heritage. There is no "American" race. Americans are the blending of many cultures throughout many generations. With this blending of cultures comes a blending of genes. In the past, genes have not been well understood. They were not understood until Mendel did experiments on plants to find out why different plants of the same species had different characteristics. His goal was to find the key to unlock the mystery of inheritance (Copeland and Hammer 12). After many years of collecting data, he unlocked the door. He discovered that the child gets one element from each parent for every trait. He also discovered that one of them is more "dominant," and shows up over the other, recessive, one (Brown 16). He published his results, but their significance was not understood at the time. "Sixteen years after his death, three people believed to have the key. Looking for other results to verify the ideas, they came across Mendel's results" (14). Their dat a agreed, and with this a new science was born - the science of Genetics (15). Due to modern medicine, such as antibiotics and rehabilitation, many genetic diseases have been allowed to survive. In nature, these diseases would not have survived to the extent that they do now. Advances in science and medicine have allowed these problems to thrive. Further advances in science may be able to terminate genetic diseases through cloning. Genetic problems have plagued the United States for centuries. Genetic diseases and mutations are more prevalent in today's world than ever before, due to advances in medicine (CHMG). Charles Darwin's theory of evolution stated that only the strong survive (Lutz 10). Modern medicine has changed that theory by allowing the weak, or people with genetic diseases, to survive. Genetic defects are caused by mutations. "When genes change in any way, they produce permanent new characteristics called mutations" (Copeland and Hamer 19). On that note, "there have been many which have had little effect on us, while others have been important in our development" (19). Along with the necessary mutations, there are "mutations that can cause serious, and sometimes fatal, disease" (Brown 16). There are many factors that may cause mutation, such as genetic accidents, environmental hazards, and human sources. The genetic accidents are regular mutations in the cells where "chemical changes in the cell cause a breakdown in the normal structure of a gene or a group of genes" (28).

Global Business Cultural Analysis: Germany Essay

Germany has a rich history and has seen many changes throughout the past few decades. Though devastating struggles have been encountered, today Germany boasts the largest economy, as well as the second most populated country within the European countries. (Central Intelligence Agency, 2013) This paper will analyze the dimensions of German culture, how those dimensions affect the way business is conducted, and more specifically, how the business culture of Germany differs and may propose complications for American companies interested in expanding their business globally to Germany. Overall, there are certainly differentiations in German and American business culture, however, none that would inhibit a business to be successful through a global expansion. As Cesar Chavez once said, â€Å"Preservation of one’s own culture does not require contempt or disrespect for other cultures.† An unbiased point of view or mindset is crucial when one is considering conducting business in a country whose culture differs from that of the said businessperson’s own culture. That is, if business success is a top priority. The successful global business embraces the culture of the particular country in which they wish to do business and is flexible while still maintaining a strong grasp on their own core values and cultural beliefs. Before one can be successful at differentiating the differences of two cultures, it is important to have a full understanding of what culture is. Quite often the culture of a particular country or region is thought to entail the arts, food, music and language of an area. Culture encompasses so much more than the elements listed above. The culture of an area is what defines who they are, how they operate, and how they relate to people outside of their culture. The dimensions of culture can be categorized as communication, religion, ethics, values and attitudes, manners, customs, social structures and organizations. (Saterlee, 2009) Saterlee goes on to describe each of these categories of culture by breaking down the complexity of each. The way a culture eats, dresses, speaks (including verbal and non-verbal communication) conducts business, punctuation, gender roles, expression of emotions, and education are all just examples of subcategories that fall within the dimensions provided by Saterlee. Clearly there is much that can be learned not only about the culture in which a business wishes to pursue operations in, but also in the said business’s own culture. As mentioned earlier, a profound understanding of one’s own culture is imperative when conducting business in an entirely different culture. â€Å"Our greatest instrument for understanding the world–introspection†¦.The best way of knowing the inwardness of our neighbor is to know ourselves.† (Lippmann, 1914) What are the major elements and dimensions of culture in Germany? The following question will be answered by covering the history (including previous government style and modern), religion, customs, social structures and eth ics, as well as communication. History of German Government Up until 1990 Germany was a divided nation consisting of two parts, Eastern and Western Germany. With the arrival of the Cold War, Germany was divided and two states were formed in 1949. Western Germany formed the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and Easter Germany formed the German Democratic Republic (GDR). The western Federal Republic took sides with the European Commission (EC) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) while the eastern German Democratic Republic sided with the communist Soviet-led Warsaw Pact. Germany was unified in 1990 with the diminishing of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) and the decline of Communism. From this unification, Germany became a stronghold in the European Union (EU) and as mentioned earlier became what is still the most populated European country. Rebuilding a unified Germany. Following the unification of eastern and western Germany arose the issue of combining two different economies into one successful economy. This posed many problems due to the success of Western Germany and the lack of success in Eastern Germany. The eastern side had been on a steady decline for the previous years leading up to the unification in 1990. When the unification occurred, it was time to create solutions for a successful merge of the two states to become one flourishing economy. On May 18, 1990 a treaty was formed between the two states, which addressed economic and financial matters. Arising from the treaty an agreement was met that stated the Federal Republic would exchange valuable, convertible western marks for less valuable, non-convertible eastern marks. A more in depth look into what is needed for the successful intertwining shows that large investments in communications, railroads, highways, and utilities are major areas that need assistance within Eastern Germany. Large companies including Volkswagen and Siemens A.G. made massive investments, which, in turn helped boost the economy and employ thousands of workers. (Harris, 1991) Transition from a Dictatorial nation to a Democratic nation. Throughout history Germany encountered many struggles while trying to develop a democracy. Some of these struggles were caused by perceptions of which were influenced by prior autocratic or dictatorial regimes. Similar to a ghost, the ideology of these previous regimes remained after their fall even during the transition to the new democracy. After the unification in 1990 there were problems that East Germans faced in regards to transitioning to a new style of government. East Germans were unfamiliar with the new democratic style of government. The transitions did not come as a complete shock due to the exposure of such governing principles viewed through media. Before flourishing, there were some economic struggles faced as well by East Germans. (Saafeld, 1997) Religion There are many similarities between the United States and Germany in relation to religion that will be discussed in further detail later. Germans have the freedom to exercise any religion of their choice. The German Basic Law describes the context of religious freedom within the country. More specifically explained in Article 4: Article 4 [Freedom of faith, conscience, and creed] (1) Freedom of faith and of conscience, and freedom to profess a religious or philosophical creed, shall be inviolable. (2) The undisturbed practice of religion shall be guaranteed. (3) No person shall be compelled against his conscience to render military service involving the use of arms. Details shall be regulated by a federal law. (Federal Republic of Germany, 1993) The main premise on which the scope of Article four of the German Basic Law was established was the case of Rumpelkammer in 1968. This case was brought about when a Roman Catholic youth organization was planning on practicing their faith missionary style in public. The group would raise money by collecting used goods such as clothes and other recyclables. The money that was obtained through the recyclables would then be donated to various charities. The group obtained support from priests by having them encourage parishioners to donate. The issue at hand was when a commercial rag dealer began to complain that the groups’ activities were illegal and in turn hurting his business. The businessman took it to court and actually won in the lower court system, however, the Constitutional Court disagreed and overturned the lower court’s decision to ban the youth group’s method of raising money. [The Article Four guarantees of religion—irrespective if the creed is rooted in religious or nonreligious ideological belief—entail not only the inner freedom to believe or no believe, that is to profess a particular creed, or to remain silent or disavow a previously held creed and profess a new one, but also the freedom to engage in ritual acts, to proselytize, and to propagandize†¦.Religious exercise has central meaning for each faith, and in view of its historical content, must be interpreted broadly. It includes not only ritualistic acts, like adherence to religious practices such as worship services, church collections, prayer, receipt of the sacrament†¦but also religious education, religious and atheistic celebrations and other practices of religious or nonreligious life.†] (Eberle, 2004) Germany also has an excellent state-church relationship. We see that this was developed early in German history with the strong roots of the Catholic Church embedded in German government. It is known that during the middle ages the Catholic Church maintained an adherence to education particularly in the areas of reading, writing, mathematics, accounting, and the study of science and philosophy. Eberle states, â€Å"The deep association of the Catholic Church with learning is a major factor in the cooperative relationship that has developed between church and state over education. Europeans became accustomed to looking to the Church for support and contribution to society.† (Eberle, 2004)

What Is the Rosetta Stone †Key to Ancient Egypt

The Rosetta Stone is an enormous (114 x 72 x 28 centimeters [44 x 28 x 11 inches]) and broken hunk of dark granodiorite  (not, as once believed, basalt), that nearly single-handedly opened up Ancient Egyptian culture to the modern world. It is estimated to weigh over 750 kilograms (1,600 pounds) and is thought to have been quarried by its Egyptian makers from somewhere in the Aswan region in the early second century BCE. Finding the Rosetta Stone The block was found near the town of Rosetta (now el-Rashid), Egypt, in 1799, ironically enough, by the French emperor Napoleons failed military expedition  to conquer the country. Napoleon was famously interested in antiquities (while occupying Italy  he sent an excavation team to Pompeii), but in this case, it was an accidental find. His  soldiers were robbing stones to  bolster nearby Fort Saint Julien for the planned attempt to conquer Egypt, when they found the curiously carved  black block. When the Egyptian capital  Alexandria fell to the British in 1801, the Rosetta Stone also fell into British hands, and it was transferred to London, where it has been exhibited at the British Museum nearly continuously ever since. Content The face of the Rosetta stone  is almost completely covered with texts that were carved into the stone in 196 BCE, during Ptolemy V Epiphaness ninth year as Pharaoh. The text describes the kings successful  siege of Lycopolis, but also it discusses the state of Egypt and what its citizens can do to improve things. What probably should not come as a surprise, since it is the work of the Greek pharaohs of Egypt, the language of the stone sometimes blends Greek and Egyptian mythologies: for example, the Greek version of the Egyptian god Amun is translated as Zeus. A statue of the King of the South and North, Ptolemy, ever-living, beloved of Ptah, the God who maketh himself manifest, the Lord of Beauties, shall be set up [in every temple, in the most prominent place], and it shall be called by his name Ptolemy, the Saviour of Egypt. (Rosetta Stone text, WAE Budge translation 1905) The text itself is not very long, but like the Mesopotamian Behistun inscription before it, the Rosetta stone is inscribed with the identical text in three different languages: ancient Egyptian  in both its hieroglyphic (14 lines) and demotic (script) (32 lines) forms, and ancient Greek (54 lines). The identification and translation of the hieroglyphic  and demotic texts are traditionally credited to the French linguist Jean Franà §ois Champollion  [1790-1832] in 1822, although its up for debate how much assistance he had from other parties.   Translating the Stone: How Was the CodeCracked? If the stone were simply the political bragging of Ptolemy V, it would be one of uncountable such monuments erected by innumerable monarchs in many societies all over the world. But, since Ptolemy had it carved in so many different languages, it was possible for Champollion, aided by the work of English polymath Thomas Young [1773–1829], to translate it, making these hieroglyphic texts accessible to modern people. According to several sources, both men took on the challenge of deciphering the stone  in 1814, working independently but  eventually exercising a keen personal rivalry. Young published first, identifying a striking similarity between the hieroglyphics and demotic script, and publishing a translation for 218 demotic and 200 hieroglyphic words in  1819. In 1822, Champollion published Lettre a M. Dacier, in which he announced his success in decoding some of the hieroglyphs; he spent the last decade of his life refining his analysis, for the first time fully recognizing the complexity of the language.   There is no doubt that Young published his vocabulary of demotic and hieroglyphic words two years before Champollions first successes, but how much that work influenced Champollion is unknown. Robinson credits Young for an early detailed study that made possible Champollions  breakthrough, which went above and beyond what Young had published. E.A. Wallis Budge, the doyen of Egyptology in the 19th century, believed that Young and Champollion were working on the same problem in isolation, but that Champollion did see a copy of Youngs 1819 paper before publishing in 1922. The Significance of the Rosetta Stone It seems pretty astounding today, but until the translation of the Rosetta Stone, no one had been able to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphic texts. Because hieroglyphic Egyptian had remained virtually unchanged for so long, Champollion and Youngs translation formed the bedrock for generations of scholars to build on and eventually translate the thousands of extant scripts and carvings dating to  the entire 3,000-year-old Egyptian dynastic tradition. The slab still resides in the British Museum in London, much to the chagrin of the Egyptian government which would dearly love its return. Sources Budge EAW. 1893. The Rosetta Stone. The Mummy, Chapters on Egyptian Funeral Archaeology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Chauveau M. 2000. Egypt in the Age of Cleopatra: History and Society Under the Ptolemies. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press.Downs J. 2006. Romancing the stone. History Today 56(5):48-54.Middleton A, and Klemm D. 2003. The Geology of the Rosetta Stone. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 89:207-216.ORourke FS, and ORourke SC. 2006. Champollion, Jean-Franà §ois (1790–1832). In: Brown K, editor. Encyclopedia of Language Linguistics (Second Edition). Oxford: Elsevier. p 291-293.Robinson A. 2007. Thomas Young and the Rosetta Stone. Endeavour 31(2):59-64.