An Seal's Tale

Kp2!!!

I read a book called The Odyssey of KP2 by Dr. Terrie Williams, an eminent wildlife biologist.  This book is the story of a biologist, two trainers and Kp2’s (an abandoned seal pup) friendship.  This book was written to tell us this amazing story.  In this book we learn about the Hawai’ian Monk Seal an endangered species.  We learn about how Kp2 and his trainers, Traci and Beau’s amazing.  You will learn about how an animal from a usually solitaire species is as friendly as puppy. You will also learn how he changes America and americans all over the country for good. How a seal helps clean the beaches. How he inspires children from Texas to Hawai’i help clean our streets and oceans.  How one animal can have Hawai’ian’s protesting to bring their Hoaloha (friend) home.  I really loved this book because though the beginning is sad the rest of the book is comical, amusing and cheery.  If you like cute animal’s and inspirational tales, than you will love this book.

Here Kp2 tries to salute but his flippers are to short so the only reach his noes.

Here is a cute video about Kp2 ft. Kp2 -->

Here is an interview with the author Dr. Terrie Williams-->

In this video Kp2 plays with mac the dog-->

Here Kp2 picks up his toys dispite the the fact that he can't see-->

Decoding Life: Unraveling The Mysteries of the Human Genome

Have you ever imagined that the growth and development of all life forms on Earth are controlled by tiny pieces of genetic material located inside each and every cell of any organism? These tiny pieces are called genomes which are made up of deoxyribonucleic acid or DNA that are located on the chromosomes inside the nucleus of the cell.

Over this past winter break, I read Decoding Life by Ron Fridell, a book that is short yet densely packed with information on everything there is to know about genetics and it's implication in passing different characteristics from one generation to the next. Every creature has its own unique genome but the basic structure of all creatures' genetic material is the same. It also discusses targeting the mutated genes that are responsible for genetic diseases and genetic malformations, future possibilities for making designer babies and even cloning mammals. But the most important topic that this book covers is the work on the development of gene therapy, which could cure genetic diseases and some types of cancer in the future. Another vital idea is to use stem cells in replacing damaged cells instead of fixing it with gene therapy. This book also talks about how scientists believe that aging is the result of the telomeres at the tips of chromosomes, being used up and when this happens, the cell becomes aged thus stops dividing and dies.

In writing this book, I think Ron Fridell was trying to update the public on the very important advancements going on in the current world of genetics.

This genomic revolution leaves scientists with moral and ethical dilemmas that may never be resolved. After all, they have to weight the benefits and the risks involved in altering human genomes.