Viruses Are All Around Us.

Did you know that there are more than 5,000 viruses know to man that can be described in detail and more than a million different types of viruses still being discovered and researched? It is very important to know what a virus is and how they can affect the body so if you get sick you know how to stay safe. 

What is a virus? A virus is an infective microscopic organism that lives in anything alive that can only reproduce in the living host (virus). They are not alive (virus). Viruses could be in humans, plants, or animals (virus). The virus stays in the cells of the body or plant (virus). The virus can grow and reproduce until it is killed or destroyed (virus).  

Knowing what a virus is can help in the process of learning how viruses affect organisms. According to www.mrphome.net  “First the virus attaches to a specific host cell. Then the virus’s hereditary material enters the host cell. Next the virus’s hereditary material causes the cell to make viral hereditary material and proteins. After that, new viruses form inside of the host cell. Last new viruses are released as the host cell bursts open and is destroyed” (Glencoe/McGraw-Hiee). 

It is very important to know how viruses affect organisms so people can know how different viruses affect the human body. Viruses that attack the body after getting in cells can cause some pretty bad sicknesses (Staff). Meningitis is the swelling of the thin layer of tissue covering the brain and spinal cord from an infection (Staff). The symptoms of meningitis are headache, fever, and a stiff neck (Staff). This can happen to anyone (Staff). This virus can be deadly if it is not treated right away (Staff).   

Meningitis is a very scary virus but so is the Mumps. Mumps is a disease made by a virus that spreads through spit that can infect many parts in the human body mostly the Salivary Glands (Foundation). When you have Mumps your glands get swollen and become very painful (Foundation). The swollen glands make it difficult for people who have the mumps to open their mouth, talk, eat, and drink (Foundation). When a person has the mumps it gives them the appearance of a hamster, making the infection pretty easy to recognize (Foundation). The mumps can be deadly if not treated immediately (Foundation).

Knowing about viruses and how they affect your body is very important if you want to stay safe while being sick. There are hundreds of viruses known to man and many to learn about. If people know about viruses it will help find new viruses and keep people safer.

Bibliography

Foundation, The Nemours. "Mumps ." April 2009. KidsHealth . 19 April 2012 <http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/sick/mumps.html>.

 

Glencoe/McGraw-Hiee. "Viruses." McGraw-Hill, Glencoe. Life Science: Life's Structure and Function (Book A). Glencoe/McGraw-Hil, 2008. 54-57.

Staff, Mayo Clinic. Meningitis . 29 April 2011. 18 April 2012 <http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/meningitis/DS00118>.

"virus." 2012. Merriam - Webster . 17 April 2012 <http://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/virus>.

Gallon Challange

Authors note: This is a research paper on the Gallon Challenge.

 

Many people try to beat the gallon of milk contest but can’t do it and end up throwing up.  The real question is why can no one beat that challenge?  Is it the amount of milk?  Is it because it is milk?  Even though it sounds easy in the end it is truly not.

The gallon of milk contest, also known as milk chugging and the gallon challenge, is a hard task to complete.  In this challenge, a contestant has to drink a gallon of milk either in a certain limited amount of time or as fast as possible.  Most of the time people follow the simple rules of drinking the gallon of milk in 60 seconds without throwing up.  This challenge all started on season five, episode two, of the American television show ”Jackass.”   Also this challenge was used in the reality TV show “Inked.”  Now today high school students and college students carry on the challenge. 

Knowing the side effects of the gallon challenge why is it so hard to even do? Many studies have been done on why the challenge is so hard.  Sarah Ash, a professor of nutrition, says that “the reason people cannot complete this challenge is due to the limited capacity of the human stomach.”  She says that generally the stomach can hold a half gallon.  When the organ limit is met and exceeded, it triggers the vomit reflex.  Another study stated that there are three reasons why it is so hard; the lactose, calcium, and casein.  The human body can only process a certain amount of lactose at one time. Your body only has a certain amount of available lactase and during the challenge your body can become lactose intolerant.  According to the web site www.howstuffworks.com, the problem with calcium is that milk contains a lot of it – about 300 mg per 8-ounce glass.  A Tums chewable tablet contains about 200 mg of available calcium.  So in drinking a gallon of milk, it is like consuming 25 Tums tablets at one time.  That creates an imbalance of the acid level in the stomach, giving your stomach another reason to consider puking.

If milk is so hard are other liquids hard as well? Some of the times people try to use different types of liquids like soda, water, or beer.  According to the website www.howstuffworks.com “Too much water overloads the circulatory system and the kidneys, dilutes blood electrolytes, and can cause cells to swell, potentially causing brain damage or death.  A gallon of soda contains over 100 teaspoons of sugar and way too much caffeine  for your body to safely process. A gallon of beer would be 10 and a half 12-ounce cans. That is enough alcohol to put the blood alcohol level of a 175 pound male above 0.20 and render many people unconscious.” 

The gallon challenge is tried by millions and may look easier then it is even though it is nearly impossible.  People who try the gallon challenge usually end up getting bad stomach aches or throwing up.  Do you want to try to beat the odds?

Bad Cop

Authors note: This is a fictional writing piece to get my word choice score up higher.

 I told him he looks as ugly as an unpainted wall and he slapped me across the face. He yelled at me but I tuned him out. Quietly I said, “My life is a roller coaster and you make the drops in the track.”

As he was starting to walk away he whipped his head around and yelled at me to be quiet or he would kill me.I heard a pop, felt a sharp stabbing pain, and my leg was broken.

 “Do you want to know how I feel?” he yelled. “I’m so mad at you that I could explode the earth and be the only person left living!”

His words stung my ears because I was worried for my family.

 “You’re like Osama Bin Laden because you set up ways to kill people but you make other people do the killing because you’re just plain scared,” I yelled.

 I could see him trying to think of a comeback response and he said, “All I think of when I look at your body is fat, fat, fat.”

Slowly I tried to get up but he punched me in the face and I fell to the ground. The pain in my broken leg is unbearable.

 “You’re a terrible man!” I yell. “I thought cops were supposed to be nice to people and help them, not hurt or kill them.”

Swiftly he said “I thought that little boys were supposed to play with their cars and not get involved in criminal acts.”

 I heard the bathroom door slam to the wall and I saw at least twenty cops running into the ten foot by ten foot room. I passed out and the next thing I knew was that I was in a hospital.

“Wow little dude” a nurse says. “You were as beat up as a beat up person who was attacked by one million dogs that had rabies.”

“Thanks?” I asked confused.

I saw the bad cop walk into the hospital room and he stabbed the nurse in the back with a three inch long piece of glass. I tried to get out of the covers but I was strapped to the bed.

 “Can’t run now can you?” he yells.

He lifted up the glass and said that he was going to kill me. His eyes shifted and he slowly lowered the knife. I could tell by the evil look in his eyes that he wanted to slowly kill me. I saw him slowly close the hospital door and he pulled over in a cart to my bedside.

 “What are you doing?” I asked.

He did not respond. I could see the cart turning around.

 “Pick a box!” He yelled.

 I was startled by his loud and sudden demand. There were four brightly colored boxes on the table. He told me to pick one of the boxes and the contents would drive how he was going to kill me. I picked up the red colored box as fast as a cheetah can run.

“I just open it?” I asked, my voice shaking with uncertainty.

 He said yes and I slowly opened the box. Whatever it was I knew it was sure to kill me slowly.