Modern Health

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CONTRIBUTORS PAGE Learn more about the people who put the effort into making this magazine and Learn their thought process on making there particular sections for each of the articles.

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NEW MEDICINE Learn alot more about recent findings and creations of medicine that could help you.

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ONLINE MENTAL HEALTH PLATFORMS If you having trouble dealing with your mental health here are some apps that can help you, with the discriptions and particular purposes.

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DEVALUING MENTAL HEALTH

Learn about how mental health has been devalued over the years, and understand the importance of Mental health.

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PICS OF PHARMACISTS Look at what the work space of Pharmacists look like on a day to day basis.

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PHARMACISTS

What do pharmacists do? Here you will learn what are the daily tasks pharmaicsts go through and the adversity they face in the medical comunity.

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TIME OF ETHICS See how Medical ethics have evolved and change as time goes on.

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HOW TO GET INTO MEDICAL SCHOOL Learn the steps and the process on how to make it into medical school.

STEM CELLS

Learn about the evolution of stem cells and how they came to be what they are today in the modern world.

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Learn about Medical MEDICAL ETHICS school and the diffrent variations and opertunitys Learn about how you have for diffrent feilds the ethics of modern of medicine, and maybe medicine and the after reading this articel huistory og medical you willl be intrested in the ethics are challenged medical feild. daily.

STEM CELLS

Go into the world of stem cells and their importance to the human race.

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Biographies

Meet the people behind Modern Health

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Aurian Arbabian Fact Check Editor

Aurian Arbabian previously attended Murchison Middle school and is currently a student at LASA High School. He enjoys swimming and other sports. His academic career consist of Human anatomy and Drug consumption affects.

When Aurian grows out of his adolescent years and starts to become an adult, he would like to move into the medical field. His mother was a Pharmacist and that is where he grew an interest in medical drugs and their effects. That is the reason why he chose to write about the Pharmaceutical field. The reason why he wants to write about the topic is to shed light on the hard work that Pharmacists give.

Thanh-Lan Nguyen Copy and Content Editor

Thanh-Lan Nguyen previously went to Kealing Magnet Middle School, and is currently attending LASA High School as a freshman. She is the youngest in a family of five, with two older siblings. When deciding on her article topic, she immediately thought of mental health. She has struggled with her mental health and stability and decided to write an article to further help educate and raise awareness about mental illness.

She hopes to venture into mental health and psychology in the future.

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Alexa Perez Features Editor

Alexa Perez is a 9th grader at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy, after first attending Kealing Middle School. With absolutely no idea of what a career in linguistics or choral studies would lead to besides enjoyment, she thought that it would be worth it to explore the field of medicine. The idea of Helping people is something that she considers to be very important, whether the focus is with Austin’s homeless shelter or the sugar industry’s child laborers. The topic of complementary medicine compared to allopathic practices stood out to her because of the growing disagreement between its supporters and opponents.

Navya Sharma

Photo and Graphics Editor Navya Sharma previously attended Gorzycki Middle School and is now a student at Liberal Arts and Science Academy. She enjoys rowing, playing basketball, and hanging out with friends.

She wants to pursue a career as a cardiothoracic surgeon because of the experience the job has to offer. Her interest in the field of medicine field influenced her to support the choice her group made for the topic. She is very worried about the years of her life she has to spend in medical school and wanted to explore more about that which influenced her to write her article on medical school.

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Anokhi Sheth

Photo and Graphics Editor Anokhi attended Lamar Middle School and is now a freshman at LASA High School. She enjoys playing sports, reading, and playing the violin, which she has been playing for seven years.

As of now, she is a member of the LASA chamber orchestra. In the future, Anokhi wants to become a doctor which is why she decided to write her article on stem cells. When she was in sixth grade, she did a research project on stem cells, and the topic was highly intriguing to her. When the opportunity to write an article on a topic she finds interesting, Anokhi decided to research and learn more about stem cells.

Kushaal Singh Layout Editor

Kushaal Singh is a freshman at the Liberal Arts and Sciences Academy. He is very interested in the sciences and the boundaries of what mankind can or can not do. When choosing the topic of the magazine, Kushaal wanted to research medicine and how different people perceive the help of the doctor. The ethics of medicine has sparked debate in recent years along with the way this unusual subject is handled among the public. Because of this debate, Kushaal chose to research the role of ethics in medicine and how doctors manage it on a daily basis.

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The Pharmacist’s of Today How do Phrmacist feel about their profetion? What are their daily tasks? How do they respond day in and day out? Finding out how these profesionals work and think will be fun so lets see how these human beings react to their daily tasks.

By: Aurian Arbabian Day to Day

In the day to day life of a Pharmacist the is alot of havok and comunicating with patients. Farzane Motafaff explains, “Our day to day responsibilitys are very tidious and stressful with filling perscriptions and most of the time having to do the jobs of our technitions while including our own responsibilites.”

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Equality in the Workplace

When talking about equlity in the work place you could say it hasent been an issue with Ms. Elysha stating, “ Equality while working has never been an isssue for me, the pay is basiclly the same with a couple of cents differental. And the respect is deffinintly there, so to restate your question I have never had a Problem with equality.”

This dbancment in making Men and Women equal could really stand as a model for other businesses in medicine

Thoughts and feelings

The thoughts and feelings of the Pharmacists work places varry with one of the Pharmacisists that had been in an interview recently had stated that, “My job is the best Job I can think of and I would not replace it, I chose to be here to isten to people and help them and I am doing exactly that. I am living my dream.” Brian Moon.

Sources:  Interviewee of Aurian Arbabian, Brian Moon, Pharmacist, Sunday 6 pm, Pharm D.  Interviewee of Aurian Arbabian, Farzaneh Motaffaf, Sunday 6 to 6:30 Pm, Pharm RPH  Interviewee of Aurian Arbabian, Elysha Donaldson, Sunday 3pm, Pharm D.

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A Different Stance By: Aurian Arbabian

W

hen talking about pharmacists, someone would usually think of a person in a white coat behind a counter of a Walgreens or CVS giving someone the medicine that was prescribed to that person by that persons doctor with no other responsibilities other than what was just said. But that is not the case. Pharmacists are much more. They help regulate thousands of variants of medicines while having to remember all of them at a time notice.

“Pharmacists’ main role is that we usually receive prescriptions from patients, or the doctors who call in prescriptions, then we enter our computer system, and we verify it make sure the prescription is correct. The right drug is correct with the right patient and all the little details. And our technicians fill the prescriptions and then we the pharmacist verify it, and we sell it to the patient,” Farzaneh Motaffaf, Walgreens said.

This image symbolises the work of the pharmacisist in their day to day work selling and regulating new medicines. (Sharon McCutcheon.)

Image Dipicts Pharmacists selling medical drugs. (Image by Tbel Abuseridze.)

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“I love helping people that why I do what I do”- Elysha Donaldson Farzaneh went to the University of Texas Austin and got her masters in the field.

As that being a simple rundown of what pharmacists generally do, there is always stress involved with filling prescriptions for patients and customers, which automatically includes hospital and retail pharmacists.

The pressure for retail pharmacists could build up when there is a lot of people in line weighting for their prescription. The wait causes anxiousness for the customer because they are often rushed and, wanting to go home. It is making them any and non-tolerant to regular wait times. And when someone is yelling and asking for you to be faster, it is stressful.

This image symbolisesmedical drugs and their uses. (Image by pina Messina.)

“Though it’s hectic and the workflow flows smoothly, the day goes by very quickly, we are the busiest 24 hours store and all of the Austin area so we get a high volume, and we have patients, the pediatric seniors everywhere in between college-age and families,” Walgreens pharmacist, said. She has been in the field for over ten years, and has a Masters degree in Austin.

She explains the fast-paced lifestyle, which is not suited for all personalities.”What’s trending right now is flu shots is immunization time of year. So everybody is coming in to get vaccinated and protected. And opioids are a hot topic right now. So we’re making sure that we fill only the appropriate ones for medically necessary people. We’re not giving them too many are too long of a duration of opioid so that they don’t get dependent on it. And we also make sure that everybody has a chance to get an opioid reversal product if they need it,” Donaldson said.

A pharmacist also covers epidemics involving drugs. They work with issues related to the opioid epidemic, where people are misusing and overdosing on pain killers. They regulate their customers dosage and have in the stop of addiction toward these drugs.

Pharmacists are one building blocks for the majority of practices in medicine. If pharmacists were to be absent, there would be a struggle of sorts in terms of trying to help everyone with their specific need for a particular drug. An example of a pharmacist helping is Donaldson, who often assists + educates her customers.

With her Pharmacy degree, she is registered to be efficient in her line of work. She said three words that would describe the ideal work condition, “Clean, Fast, Efficient.”

Pharmacists get stressed out about filling the correct prescriptions, including dosages that could cause death if miscalculated. “We see that a lot in the pediatric population. So our software flags it for high doses. And it’s kind of up to us to recognize whether it looks like it’s unusual or not. And I’d say especially after having kids and knowing what a normal doses it’s made us realize that even more without using the software. So I would say since I’ve been a pharmacist has been at least 20 or 30 times, we call the doctor’s office and had them fix the doses that they gave way too much. And they apologize, they didn’t calculate right and so forth,” Motaffaf said.

As life goes on older people tend to buy more medicine then other. Elyisha expains further about how her parents impacted her desision to become a pharmacist.

(Arfan Khan Kamol Arfan Khan Kamol Image by Laurynas Mereckas.)

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Which would include a technician not being in to help the pharmacist making the Pharmacist work two jobs, while someone is gone?

One fact that is not commonly taught about pharmacists is that gender equality in the workplace is very vibrant. There is no scrutiny whether you are a male or female with virtually the same pay. Besides the two cents difference between the two genders, but even with that difference, women and men do not care with such low numbers.

Another unknown fact circulating in the pharmaceutical industry is how understaffing

is becoming an issue in Austin and other major cities, as well. There are fewer and fewer students applying or making it into pharmacy school. This that causes more and more unreliable technicians to become hired without an intent to efficiently do their job, which creates a lot of stress for pharmacists and the patients as well.

Some important dates that are coming up soon are how 9 Pharmaceutical Firms avoid trials about opioids and overdosing patients or giving too much. And local Pharmaceuticals in other states want to join together to become part of the solution to stop opioids. With a lot of talk and

“If helping people is what you love, then it does not seem like a job�

- Farzaneh Motaffaf

news covering the opioid epidemic, there is less information about anything else other than the opioid outbreak and how to stop this drug from rapidly spreading. Without pharmacists, there would be a lot of problems.

(Graphic byArfan Khan Kamol.)

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Pharmacists are frequently disrespected but their respondibilities should not be.

(Image by Kendal)

As many don’t know pharmacists are certified to give medical shots to people who need it.

Which is another adition to what pharmacists can do.

(Image by Hyttalo Souza.)

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Online Apps For Mental Health

by Thanh-Lan Nguyen In a time with so many technological advancements, there are plenty of free and reasonably priced ways to get mental help online. Here are just a couple!

Mind Shift

Mind Shift is a free mental health app designed for teenagers and young adults with anxiety.

Rather than pushing you to get rid of anxiety altogether, it works on changing your view of anxiety.

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What’s Up

What’s Up is a free app that uses cognitive behavioral therapy to help you through depression, anxiety, and more. It uses tracking pages to keep track of progress and to break bad habits.

Recovery Record

Recovery Record is a free app designed for people suffering eating disorders to work on improving and get a better body selfimage. It keeps records of your meals and lets you track your progress over time.

National Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) Hotline: 1-800-662-HELP(4357) Teen Counseling

Happify Happify is a free app that fast-tracks you to a good mood with games and activities to brighten your outlook on life.

Teen Counseling is an online therapy app that specializes in counseling for teenagers. You can chat, message, and video skilled therapists for a fee of 45$ per week.

Betterhelp

Betterhelp is an online counseling app you can download on your phone to chat, message, and video chat with a skilled therapist. It has a 65$ weekly fee, with unlimited amount of sessions.

ReGain

ReGain is an online therapy app that specializes in relationship and couple counseling.

You can video, chat, and message therapists with a weekly fee of 65$.

Sources: -https://www.e-counseling.com/online-therapy/ -https://www.psycom.net/25-best-mental-health-apps -https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline Modern Health 17

Mental health allies and survivors work hard to support and help those with mental disorders and illnesses. (Photo by Dan Meyers.)

Lunatics to Living Humans: A Journey Hopefully in the Making

by Thanh-Lan Nguyen

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rejudice. Discrimination. Stereotyping.

All of these words take the guise of human judgment against something they do not completely understand. Whether it is against people of different color, gender or religion, the history of human civilization is riddled with crimes against itself. A lot of times, people are judged for something out of their control, an unpopular choice, a disability. But one of the most common types of discrimination, the one we may not even realize is prejudice, is against people with mental illness and disabilities.

Assumptions about mental disorders have existed in many different ways, from mental asylums of the 20th century to wild and drastic theories about mental illness from different religions. The mentally disabled have faced oppression and dehumanization ever since they were recognized. And even now, in the 21th century, some of those views on mental illness have not changed too much. Ableists, stigma and general obliviousness all contribute to the lack of accurate information about mental disorders.

existed for a long time, but the detrimental effect they can have on people has not faded.

Counselor Adriane Thompson also pointed out the misconception around mental health, painting people with mental disorders and issues as weak or too sensitive, and simply needing to get over it. There is a lot of pressure to conform to society and build emotional walls to feel safe and strong, when in reality it is very unhealthy.

And that also leads to the fact that people -- not only those with mental health issues -- want to have support.

It is human nature to want to be part of a group.

“When we can’t rely on one another, we don’t do well.

We recover from things more quickly when we know someone has our back,” Thompson said. “We are less resilient when we try to handle everything on our own.”

Counselor Sherry Patton spoke about her aunt and severely mentally disabled cousin, as well as the discrimination they faced. Her cousin faced prejudice ever since they were born, because of their mental condition.

“I remember my aunt telling me that she was told by the doctors ‘if it were my child I would put her in a home, just kind of get rid of the child.’ That was how things were, years ago about people that were different, mental health and disabilities. The world has changed a lot. But it still has a long way to go,” Patton said.

Unfortunately, the stigma around mental health isn’t limited to strangers and general society, either. Many mental disorders can be left unchecked by family members, whether accidentally or on purpose.

“There’s still a lot of taboo things about going to talk to somebody about anything. It’s like, ‘no, we handle that within the family’ or you just keep that to yourself, or, ‘Oh, you just tough it out!’ Not everybody can tough it out,” Patton said.

It is easy for people to misunderstand or make assumptions about mental disorders if they don’t have them. Many people can’t truly understand conditions, regardless if they are physical or not, without having the experience already. Mental health misconceptions have

Adriane Thompson is a counselor for adults. holding both private sessions and group therapy. (Photo by Adriane Thompson, 2019.)

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ely r t ’ an we c e n w other, e h “W e an W e . n l on o t do wel ings h don’ from t hen w er v y o l c k as c re i h u e q n e o r e o m m so w o .” k n c k a on b s we r p u o om h T ne a i r -Ad

Diana Damer is the founder of The Anxiety Treatment Center of Austin. (Photo by Diana Damer, 2019.)

Even the smallest mental health issues can become large problems without support, like anxiety. Anxiety is a very important fight-or-flight reflex in humans, but if left unchecked, it can become paranoia and take over lives. Founder of The Anxiety Treatment Center of Austin, Diana Damer, has researched and examined how anxiety works.

“A little paradox about anxiety is that it’s very selfperpetuating. It tends to get worse over time if not treated and the reason is that all the things that we naturally do to try to manage our anxiety, while those things may help us feel less anxious in the moment, they tend to feed into the anxiety and exaggerate it,” Damer said.

Another, more pressing mental health issue, has alarmingly risen across all ages: depression. Most people are familiar with depression as well as its effects, but it is still misunderstood.

“Thankfully we are bringing these issues into the light more and more and I think increasing the chances that more people will reach out for the help they need. But

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in these early days it’s easy to feel uncertain about what to say or do so we need to be compassionate with ourselves and be vulnerable by engaging in the discussion anyway,” Thompson said.

“It’s easy to feel hurt and angry when people tease about or minimize the seriousness of mental health issues, but it could be a defense mechanism because it hits too close to home for them,” Thompson said.

But then, how do we improve the lives of those with mental disabilities? We have been able to accept minorities into general life before, for the most part.

People with mental disorders should be treated no different.

There has to be a balance between being sensitive and being lighthearted in the mental health community.

But it all depends on the individual. Mental health is a completely individual matter, and everyone has slightly different needs. The most important step toward getting rid of discrimination is getting accurate information and asking instead of assuming. There is still a long way to go to have a world without misconceptions and prejudice against the mentally disabled, but with enough effort, there will be a comfortable spot for those with mental disorders in society.

“I think it’s important to understand that mental illness does not discriminate and you never know who might be dealing privately with these issues. Many people with mental illness are high functioning and important members of our community. We all suffer when we don’t create a climate in which people feel it is OK to

“There’s still a lot of taboo things about going to talk to somebody of anything. It’s like, ‘no, we handle that within the family’ or you know, ‘you just keep that to yourself or, ‘Oh, you just tough it out!’”

-Sherry Patton have these issues and to get help for them,” Thompson said.

Therapy is also a useful way to help not just people with diagnosable disorders, but anyone seeking advice in their life. Unlike the common association of therapy and counseling being meant for those with serious mental illnesses, anyone that needs help in improving their life can and should be able to see a counselor, therapist or psychiatrist. It is an important part of many lives, especially when family and friends cannot help.

And sometimes, integrating those with mental health issues into society as a whole does not have to mean being sensitive to their every need and mention. Even now, jokes have been a fairly good way of both coping and becoming more social for the mentally disabled, as long as they are not actually insulting or covering up a deeper issue.

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What Doctors Have Ordered By: Alexa Perez

The science of healing has been evolving for centuries across continents.

Today, we use both those old school, tradtional practices along with modern, allopathic ones.

2500 BCE: Acupuncture, the use of thin needles was used in China to target chronic pain and depression

1844: The American Association of Homeopathy was formed. Homeopathy is based on the idea of treating “like with like�

Alternative and Complementary 22 Modern Health

2007: 50% of Americans use some form of CAMs

1998:The Journal of the American Medical 1886: Journal of the Association disregarded Royal College of General alternative medicine Practitioners says that alternative medicine is becoming increasingly popular.

Modern Allopathy

1796: The first vaccine was developed, which would lead to the first eradication of a disease

1857: “Germs� (bacteria and viruses) are realized to be the cause of disease

1955: The polio vaccine was developed

1975: CAT scans are invented

2006: A vaccine is created to target a cause of cancer

Sources: - blog.oregon.edu -ncibi.nlm.nib.gov -greatist.com

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Medical School

By Navya Sharma What if you could save someone’s life without putting your own in danger? That is what doctors do every day. It is possible for one to become a doctor or surgeon as their job.

The background knowledge and basically everything you need to know about becoming a surgeon is provided at medical school. Medical school is a great way to kick start your career in the medical field. Along with a new school comes vast experiences provided by the

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wise and thoughtful teachers.

The schools also offer many new experiences that are not possible to experience first hand in everyday life.

Medical school is a gift where you make new friends, and where you start becoming a doctor.

Individuals advance in their knowledge of medicine and gain experiences like never before. Wins are celebrated

and losses are learned from. The school makes you more mature and resistant to the world. It takes a long time to graduate and complete your education if you decide to go into the medical field but according to many doctors, the experience is often worth it. Medical Schools are present everywhere but can very hard to access because of their affordability.

The best doctors are into medicine because of the joy it gives them to tell their patients that they have survived a major surgery or a major disease, not the money. “Everything has its pros and cons, money is something but there are other things that you too compromise on. So money doesn’t always make it up for that.”, explained Vandana Karia, Ph.D. Dr. Karia owns Smiles-R-Us and works there as well. She has invested her life into making the world a better place by becoming a dentist and helping patients with their problems.

She went to medical school like any other doctor and came out successfully despite all the hardships she faced. She talks about one of her favorite memories from her early medical life where she had to work on a very hard patient all

by herself for the first time.

“Back in India, we were allowed to treat patients in our 3rd year...under the guidance of course, and I was removing a very difficult tooth on a patient, who was a 50-year-old guy, and I was not able to do it. I was nervous, that was my first case, and my

“Living bodies are way more fascinating than dead bodies” supervisor, my teacher there, I was calling her, and she was like, “No. You can do it.” and she just said, “Just pull it out!”, and I pulled it, and it did come out.” She explains this because she believes that “If [she] needs to know dentistry then [she]

needs to know how to do it, and that’s how I’m going to learn it.” Overall Dr. Karia enjoyed medical school, learned a lot from it, and loves her job today that the school prepared her for.

Many doctors recommend the medical field and medical school based on their experiences. “Being in a cadaver lab, it was just so fascinating to hear about it from everyone and we had never seen or worked with cadavers”, said Dr. Supria Pradhan who works at Sniff, a long term physical rehab facility, and is a physical therapist. “We

were new and it was just a really new hype just to be around dead bodies and there were different sections of limbs and bodies”, she explained the energy present in the room.

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Medical School

By Navya Sharma

bad but it was also fun because we had a lot of students pass out there and trauma happening right there so it was amazing” Medical school is really fun for a lot of people because they are eager and young at that time and seeing these things hype them up but a lot of people also can’t handle seeing bloody and graphic things in real life which ends up in the passing out or throwing up. If extremely minor, this can sometimes be amusing to others.

There has also been a time in every doctors life where they have had a bad time in medical school like any other specialty.

Sometimes it’s losing a patient, making a mistake, or having personal issues that mess with their work life. For Dr. Pooja Sharma, who is a pharmacist it was the fact that her teachers were not able to fulfill what she had wanted to learn, “I didn’t like the course structure in my Master because they taught almost he same things that they taught in my undergrad

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so I didn’t like that” She had wanted to learn something more advanced but she had been taught almost the same thing again and that bothered her because she put her money and time into it but her hopes weren’t fulfilled.

Medical School is a great experience and it offers many opportunities for growth.

Doctors start building their personalities in their school and learn how to treat the patients.

There are pros and cons to this field but overall it is loved by many because of the joy it brings of helping others.

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Stem Cells Stem cells are like blank copies of cells so they can be formed and shaped to anything.

By: Anokhi Sheth

Stem cells were discovered.

It was discovered that stem cells are derived from human embryos and that they can be grown in laboratories.

1998

1981 1997 The first clone became known as Dolly the sheep.

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It was discovered that stem cells could be made from adult cells without the need to harm the human embryo.

2006 2001 Controversey around how stem cells should be used is created and funding for their research is limited.

It is discovered how to produce cells from adult stem cells, also known as theraputic cloning.

The first person recieved treatment from stem cells for their spinal injury.

2013

2010 2009 President Obama lifts the ban on researching stem cells.

2014

2011 Stem cells show the poyential to help cure blindness.

Researchers start human trials using stem cells to treat a form of age related blindness.

Sources: -American for Cures, Stem Cells 101 -National Institutes of Health, September 25, 2019 -New Scientist, Stem Cell timeline, January 30, 2014 -Stanford Children’s Health -BiologyWise.com

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Stem cells are like blank copies of cells that can be shaped or formed into anything. With increasing research, the possibilities of their uses are limitless.

(Photo by Hal Gatewood on Unsplash.)

Stem Cells: Biological Advances Become More Evident By: Anokhi Sheth

P

acked with potential, stem cells are a new biological wonder that are just beginning to make an appearance in our world.

Discovered in 1981, embryonic stem cells have been around for a while, but researchers have only recently began delving deeper into their topic.

Stem cells, developed from fertilized eggs, are derived from human embryos. Another common name for them is embryonic stem cells. They are blank copies of cells that can be shaped and formed into almost

(Graphic by Scott Lewis from Noun Project.)

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anything. In theory, this means that they can be used to grow and replace human organs and cure almost any debilitating conditions or diseases, but they have been surrounded by a lot of controversy because there are people who think their use is considered unethical.

Deriving a stem cell destroys the blastocyst, which is an unplanted human embryo at the six to eighth day of development and people consider this as taking an innocent human life. The pros of stem cells are limitless, but it comes at a price

Dr. Mehul Patell specializes in radiation oncology. He recieved his medical degree from Wayne State University School of Medicine and been practicing for 11-20 years.

(Photo courtesy of Mehul Patel.)

tissue is also minimal, so it is able to repair itself.

“It’s meant for that -- like if you cut yourself, if unless its a really, really deep cut, it’s going to repair. It’s going to fix itself. You don’t need to do anything. Just keep it clean and just the specifications of that body during its keep it from getting bacteria, but it’s growth. going to repair and that’s exactly how it In a lot of cases, it is extremely difficult works is because we have this focused to obtain an organ from a donor because -- somewhat focused radiation here they are not readily available. In the where the highest doses are heating the case that the specific organ needed is given to a person, it must be compatible and accepted by the body. Time and money are both factors when waiting for an organ, which a lot of people cannot afford to lose.

Living on life support for the rest of (Graphic by Yu Luck from Noun Project.)

which is the question: Do the pros of stem cells outweigh the cons?

Recently, more scientists have begun researching more into depth with them to learn how to use them to their full potential. In fact, with recent research and advancements, scientists were able to grow a human ear on the back a rat.

With more research developing, the possibilities are limitless and could mean additional advances in the medical world. For example, a damaged cell could be replaced with a stem cell that has been shaped into that specific cell.

Looking on a larger scale, they can also replace a damaged human organ.

Because they are blank copies, the DNA of a person can be used when growing the organ. The body will have a higher chance of accepting the organ because the body will be able to recognize the organ as one of its own. The use of the DNA specifically tailors the organ to fit

center. The cells around it are getting damaged, but the normal tissues are repairing themselves better than the cancer cells--that’s how this works,” radiation oncologist Mehul Patel said.

(Graphic by LAFS from Noun Project.)

your life is not any kind of quality of life and would not be something anyone should have to experience.

Along with the poor quality of life, the chances of survival decrease when solely depending on life support. With stem cells this could change, making organs readily available and increasing the chances of the body accepting the organ.

Stem cells, when enough research is collected, could also be used to cure cancer. During the use of radiation to kill the cancer, the dosage can be controlled. When the amount is decreased, the effect on the normal

When the amount is increased, the normal tissue around it is damaged to the point where it can no longer heal itself, which is where stem cells can come into play.

“Now once we get high doses of radiation -- that’s like a big cut that’s not going to repair no matter what you do. Or it won’t heal and that’s maybe where your thing may come into play -- your stem cells or some kind of thing that can repair. Or replace it.

Replace that damaged tissue,” Mehul Patel said.

There are always other possibilities that are far more ominous, which is

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Divya Patel is a an epidemiologist at the UT Austin and recieved a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 2003.

Her broad interest and work in women’s health research made her the recipient of a 5-year career development award from the National Cancer Insititute.

(Photo courtesy of Divya Patel.)

why there is still plenty of research that needs to be conducted in order for them to be used on a day-to-day basis in the medical field.

“I think they could be helpful. The only problem is that you have someone who has cancer and putting in stem cells can maybe cause them to have those cells turn into more cancer cells,” Dr. Mehul Patel said.

This would result in the complete opposite effect of what is intended. If scientists could find a way to control how the stem cells are shaped and what shapes them, then they could be a possible cure for cancer. After the radiation treatment of chemotherapy, then they could be used to replace

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the cells that were damaged by the treatment.

Dr. Tanya Paull also brings up another valid point about the use and manipulation of stem cells in the medical world.

“I think that’s just an interesting area of research because if other groups start actually using stem cells for regeneration or for clinical purposes -- I think that becomes an important issue, especially if people are doing genetic manipulation of stem cells then it becomes important to understand how genome stability is maintained in stem cells,” Paull said.

Genome stability is when DNA correctly replicates itself. If this does not occur, then there will be

genome instability which could cause genetic diseases and mutations of cells.

The proper use of stem cells must be researched further in order to know the full effects, including the side effects and consequences of using them, but once this research is to an extent where they can be used in the real world, their possibilities are limitless.

Dr. Divya Patel, an epidemiologist at the University of Texas (UT), discussed how a research study could be conducted to look at the effects of stem cells. Epidemiology is the study of health in populations, which could be vital to see when testing stem cells to see their positive and negative effects.

She made a comparison with a doctor or nurse; they see patients on an individual level and look at their risk factors and how that influences their risk of having a disease of illness.

Epidemiologists look at broader trends in populations and how different factors either influence disease in a positive or negative way, which could also mean looking at how they could be prevented, allowing for scientists and doctors alike to alter how they use stem cells to treat patients.

The development of stem cells in the medical world is increasing. They have a lot of potential that can be unpacked and the research is becoming

(Graphic from Léa Lortal from Noun Project.)

Tanya Paull is a professor in molecular biology and is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator at UT Austin.

(Photo courtesy of Tanya Paull.)

“Other people have looked at that and I think that’s just an interesting area of research because if other groups start actually using stem cells for regeneration or for clinical purposes--I think that becomes an important issue, especially if people are doing genetic manipulation of stem cells” - Tanya Paull increasingly advanced and more precise. Scientists are delving deeper because they have realized this could mean a medical breakthrough that will change hundreds of thousands of people’s lives.

(Graphic by Shastry from Noun Project.)

Stem cells are already being used in the laboratory by scientists develop models to study normal which can help identify the cause of birth deffects.

They are also used to screen new drugs and develop models (Photo

by Sharon Pittaway on Unsplash.)

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The Evolution of Medical Ethics

A timeline of the evolution of Ethics in Medicine

By Kushaal Singh

1946 Nuremberg trials set precident for requiring consent and for information to be given to the party who is being tested on.

King Henry VII of Engand passed an act requiring doctors to be tested before being able to practice medicine.

1511

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Stanley Magrim proved people’s willingness to be in morally wrong tests when ordered by an authoritative figure 1974

Sources

https://www.niehs.nih.gov/research/resources/bioethics/timeline/index.cfm https://www.bmj.com/content/1/4821/1179 https://www.ushmm.org/information/exhibitions/online-exhibitions/special-focus/doctors-trial

1997 Dolly the Sheep is the first organism to be cloned by man. The health risks of cloning caused debate on the ethics of cloning Susan Reverby found the US infecting 1300 with diseases in 1946 and only giving 700 penecilin without telling the patients about the tests

2017 Revisions to the Common Rule creates the Final Rule which is published as an international basis for ethics.

FINAL RULE

2010

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Tricks for Ethics

by Kushaal Singh

You are a doctor, who swore to, “Do no harm,” and now you have a patient who is refusing a type of treatment.

You have fully informed them of the risks of refusing this treatment, and yet because of personal biases, they still wish to continue without it. You are a patient with ideals you have lived your life keeping. You will never break them until the day you die, which might be soon, because those ideals potentially could harm you. It is, in your mind, okay, as it will earn you peace after death, knowing that you believed in these ideals. You are shortening this

"The theoretical and clinical applications life to stick to ideals that will be beneficial in the next, and if you didn’t follow through you would be shunned by your like minded community. This is the dilemma that patients and doctors alike go through on a daily basis.

Bioethics is one of the few regions of medicine that doesn’t require an advanced degree. Everybody has an opinion and in bioethics that opinion is taken and put in the scope of how it could save a life. Because of the unsure nature of what someone thinks is correct, nobody can say what should or shouldn’t be done. As a doctor, one should expect to approach patients who are subject to different opinions and should know how to talk to them and make sure they feel comfortable.

Bioethics is, as described by Sherrilyn Sethi, who has a Ph.D in medical humanities, the theoretical and clinical applications on autonomy and nonmaleficence and how it portrays to society.

Notice how the definition speaks of the theoretical Photo curtesy of Openclipart-Vectors from Pixabay

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applications. Bioethics has no definite way to be approached. If there was a treatment to a patient who had a heart attack that had a 99 percent chance of survival, but the patient finds the treatment morally wrong, there is no clear path of where to go.

Does the patient’s opinion of what is allowed to happen to their body come first, or is it the hippocratic oath, which says to do no harm? If the doctor didn’t do perform the treatment, which would most likely save the patient, they would be letting them die.

Bioethics is the difference between black and white in the eyes of people who see black and white differently.

Instead of preaching one’s ideals in the hospital, one must create an environment in which a conversation can happen between doctor and patient, making both parties more comfortable. Dr. Ryan Charbeneaux, the

from aborting their child?

In bioethics, it is general practice for the doctor to do what the patient thinks is right as long as it is not self harming and there is an ethical reason behind it. The distinction is made between if the patient wants to not get an abortion, which they might see as murder, against a patient asking for more medication because they have an addiction and will have side effects from withdrawl. Often the distinction can be made by the bioethics committee, which are present in most hospitals.

However, there is a problem. If each human has different bias and views on every topic, then shouldn’t the ethics committee, which is made up of humans, also have a bias? The answer is yes, but the committee has to try and avoid it at all costs.

As said by Micheal Barber, the Chaplain of

on autonomy and nonmaleficence and how it portrays to society" -Doctor Sherrilyn Sethi lll Chief Medical Officer of St. David's North Medical Center and member of the Ethics Committee at St. David’s, says that you should treat a patient “respectfully and with curiosity.”

Today, in a time where most are educated with a highschool diploma and have access to the internet, we should remember that somebody might have opinions based on knowledge that could be on the same level as the doctors’. Take abortion, for example. If there is a pro-choice doctor and an anti-abortion patient, but the mother has a 90 percent of death if they keep the child, there is a dillemma. Does the doctor take the safer route that will save a mother or does the doctor takes the patient’s side and abstain

St. David’s Medical Center and member of the Ethics Committee at the same hospital, “If the ethics committee has been requested to make ethical and medical recommendations on a particular situation, the people on our committee try to figure out what is the best outcome or the best way we can help this patient.”

"Treat with patience and respect" -Doctor Micheal Barber

Going into ethics, the patient’s ideals come before the doctors’, and the purpose of a hospital is to lengthen someone’s life. For somebody to be in the hospital there is the potential for a dire situation, even if they are just getting tested for various diseases, as proving positive

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natural

for these diseases could change their life.

As a doctor, there needs to be empathy for these people and one needs to understand the point people are at.

These people are at the lows of their lows, when they ask for this type of help, so as a doctor one should make the environment safe.

Often ethicists will be pastors or clergy members, certified in a certain religion.

Often the patient will have different views, causing a

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predetermined rift between the patient and doctor. Put simply

by Barber, we don’t need to express our beliefs, and we are here to help the patient.

Despite this seeming rift, remember that the purpose of an ethicist or doctor is to keep a patient alive, and in doing so keep them comfortable.

Doctors must keep their patient at ease while still keeping them informed of the issue at hand.

The patient is being told this heavy information, and one way many wish to formulate their thoughts is to speak. Just the act of listening to a patient makes them feel better, and it is easy to do. Let them speak and listen while taking care to make them feel welcome.

Bioethics is a topic that has its debates and has no final yes or no. Always be hesitant in

what is said in the field, and make sure that the patient is the reason that the job exists. The purpose of bioethics is to make sure the doctor doesn’t overstep their bounds, and to make sure all parties are comfortable.

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