A latent infection Essays

A latent infection Essays A latent infection Essay A latent infection Essay A latent infection refers to an infective agent, in this instance a virus, staying in an inactive or hibernating province [ I ] . This can happen in both DNA and RNA viruses, including Herpes Simplex virus and HIV. The virus life rhythm includes two parts, the lytic and lysogenic rhythm. Latent infections come under the lysogenic rhythm. This latent phase is utile in hedging an immune response so the virus lasts for a longer clip within the host cell. The lytic rhythm is the chief rhythm where reproduction occurs and is shown below in diagram 1. The first phase is attachment where the virus attaches to the host cell via a receptor. The viral nucleic acid is either injected into the cell through incursion or the whole virus atom is taken up by endocytosis. If the virus was taken up in this manner it now needs to be uncoated so the viral nucleic acid is exposed in the cytol of the host cell. The following phase is cistron look and the control of cistron look determines the overall class of a virus infection ( acute, chronic, relentless or latent ) ( Principles of Molecular Virology, 4th edition, Alan J. Cann, 2005 ) . Depending on the type of nucleic acid, DNA or RNA, look and reproduction of the cistron can take topographic point in the cytol or the karyon of the host cell. Assembly so takes topographic point to acquire all the constituents necessary to do a new virion together and they are packaged into membranes and envelopes. This is known as the ripening procedure and is the point when the virus becomes infective. Replication occurs rapidly and so many mature virions are made, that they are released from the host cell through lysis of the cell wall. The virions can now reiterate this procedure on another host cell to distribute the infection. Diagram 1 the lytic and lysogenic rhythms: Viral DNA/RNA is incorporated into the host genome in the lysogenic rhythm besides shown in diagram 1. The host genome is now termed a prophage and the viral nucleic acid replicates as a portion of the host cell and can be passed onto girl cells. No new virions are made in this rhythm and there are no symptoms from the infection. The viral nucleic acid can stay in the lysogenic rhythm for a long clip but if the prophage is triggered by emphasis or UV visible radiation, the rhythm can return back to the lytic rhythm where new viral offspring is formed. Viral latency is portion of the lysogenic component of the virus life rhythm. Gene look is down regulated so, in this latent province, the virus is non being replicated ( Janeway s Immunobiology, 7th edition, Murphy et Al, 2008 ) . The viral nucleic acid is integrated into the host genome and replicates with the host genome but no new viral proteins are being made. This happens at a point after the initial infection with the virus. There is no disease nowadays in this phase but the virus has non been eradicated. The virus can be reactivated from a latent province to a lytic province due to a figure of factors. These include emphasis, sunlight or hormonal alterations. A reversion to the lytic phase of the life rhythm consequences in viral proteins being made and the infection returning, but perchance in a different look compared to the initial infection. The latent province is maintained by the written text of certain cistrons, either maintaining the virus in the latent province or returning it back to the lytic. The forms of the latent phase can be studied utilizing bacteriophage lambda as it does non do disease. Diagram 2 below shows in graph signifier how the virus can travel in and out of a latent province over clip. Diagram 2 latency graph demoing viral burden vs. clip The virus in the latent phase does non bring forth any proteins, which makes it undetectable to the immune system as there are no sensing markers. The virus can besides conceal in cells that do non split, for illustration in some cells of the immune system. The virus does non acquire broken down or engulfed by macrophages as it has become portion of the host cell. The latent phase is a good manner of lasting in a host cell in order to reinfect the host subsequently on. It can so besides spread to other host cells, advancing drawn-out endurance and perennial infection. In a productive infection, the lytic rhythm is activated and viral proteins are made. This is different to the latent phase. The virus would merely last for a certain period of clip in a productive infection until it was eliminated from the host. Herpesviruses do latent infections in many different carnal species ( Introduction to Modern Virology, 6th edition, Dimmock et Al, 2007 ) . Herpesviruses can do different sorts of diseases, for illustration, poulet syphilis, the Herpes Simplex Virus and the Epstein-Barr virus. The Herpes Simplex Virus or HSV has many types, which include Type 1, associated with cold sores around the oral cavity and Type 2 with venereal herpes. Once infected with the HSV virus, it infects the mucose membranes around the oral cavity. The viral DNA of HSV1 so integrates into the host genome in nervus cells called nervous ganglion [ two ] . Viral look is restricted during the latent phase, so no viral offspring is formed. The virus can be in the latent phase and remain in the organic structure for the remainder of its life, perchance repeating at different phases. If the virus is reactivated from the latent phase, it goes into the lytic phase and replicates to organize new viral offspring, which reinfects the mucose membranes of the oral cavity. The new infection can besides look as a signifier of herpes zosters after reactivation. The latent phase of HSV1 has no effects on the host and no symptoms are produced from it unless reactivated into the lytic rhythm. Factors that affect the reactivation of HSV1 include other unwellnesss, for illustration a cold, sing nerve-racking state of affairss either emotionally or physically an d hurts. Within the nervous cells, in the latent phase, RNA sequences are expressed called Latency-associated Transcripts ( LATs ) . There are tonss of LATs and they modify procedures within the host cell so it is non removed by the immune system. This is the merely active portion of the virus during the latent phase and they help keep latency within the cell. LATs are besides required for reactivation. The Epstein-Barr virus or HHV-4 virus is besides portion of the herpes virus household. Peoples infected with the Epstein-Barr virus are frequently symptomless for most of their lives. If the infection arises in a kid, there is an acute infection. However, if the infection arises in an grownup, it can do glandular febrility. Symptoms include a sore pharynx, conceited secretory organs and a febrility [ three ] . The infection starts in the salivary secretory organ and can hence be dispersed direct contact with the septic spit, for illustration, through caressing. It lasts for around 2-3 hebdomads but after that clip, there are no longer symptoms and the virus remains latent in resting, memory B lymphocytes [ four ] . When the B cells are infected with EBV, they proliferate and T cells are recruited to acquire rid of septic B cells. Reactivation of the EBV virus frequently causes a subclinical infection but can besides do malignant neoplastic diseases, like Burkitt s lymphoma, largely found in Africa or B cell lymphoma. When the virus is in a latent province the cistrons are expressed in the round signifier of an episome, instead than a additive signifier in the lytic province. Upto nine viral proteins are expressed in the latent province which is a little sum compared to the viral proteins produced in the lytic province. These specific proteins help to keep the latent province. These include six Epstein-Barr atomic antigens ( EBNAs ) and three latent membrane proteins ( LMPs ) [ 5 ] . EBNA-1 is the lone one of these proteins which is necessary for DNA reproduction and the others are used in cell procedures like cell signalling. EBNA-1 is besides the lone antigen nowadays in Burkitt s lymphoma and T cells ca nt adhere with it, so ca nt acquire rid of the septic cell. Human Immunodeficiency virus ( HIV ) is a RNA retrovirus, which causes AIDS. AIDS is a status where the immune system has been degraded so much that it can no longer contend against infection. HIV contains 2 RNA strands and is covered by a protein coat. When HIV infects a cell, rearward RNA polymerase is used to change over its RNA into DNA so that reproduction can happen within the host. After infection, the virus either replicates quickly to infect other cells or goes into the latent province in CD4+ T lymphocytes. HIV is known as a slow virus which means it takes a long clip to bring forth symptoms, frequently taking to a late diagnosing of the disease. An infection with HIV causes flu like symptoms at first, before going symptomless and traveling into a clinically latent stage. In this stage there is still reproduction of the HIV virus in some cells but some of the virus has gone into a latent province, which means some of the virus is active and some is inactive. The clinical la tency phase varies in length from hebdomads to old ages and the virus can still be passed on to other people as the retroflexing virus is besides present. CD8 T cells are responsible for the diminution of the virus but they can non extinguish the virus. Peoples with the HIV virus carry the disease for the remainder of their lives. Anti-retroviral drugs and chemotherapy can non acquire rid of the virus from the latent phase, so even if the activated virus was eliminated, the virus can still re-emerge. The latent virus can be reactivated but the specific grounds for this happening are non known. Reactivation of the virus from the latent phase, consequences in more serious symptoms developing and leads to the oncoming of AIDS. To reason, latent infections are another manner that certain viruses can hedge the immune responses of the host. The virus can either conceal in cells in certain tissues like the Herpes Simplex Virus or conceal in B cells of the immune system like the Epstein-Barr virus. HIV is a RNA virus that prolongs the life of the virus by concealing in CD4+ cells. All these viruses can be reactivated to do a ulterior infection. Often the reverting infection is acute but sometimes more serious infections arise for illustration malignant neoplastic diseases like Burkitt s lymphoma upon reactivation of the EBV virus. The latency phase is a clever technique of the virus to remain in the host for a longer period of clip. hypertext transfer protocol: //dictionary.reference.com/browse/latent Latent Viruss and Diseases from World of Microbiology and Immunology. Â ©2005-2006 hypertext transfer protocol: //www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/ebv.htm Introduction to Modern Virology, 6th edition, Dimmock et Al, 2007 hypertext transfer protocol: //www.science.org.au/nova/026/026key.htm

Raisin in the sun essays

Raisin in the sun essays A Raisin in the Sun, written by Lorraine Hansberry ,is by far one of the best books have read yet. The setting is in the mid-1900's in the Southside of Chicago. The main focus of this book occurs around a poor black family in a poor black community, the Younger's. Hansberry does a great job of using dialect to make the scenes quite realistic and uses quite a bit of symbolism, irony, motifs, and situations that involve making decisions where you become stuck between a rock and a hard place. The book starts off with Walter Younger's obsession with his mother's insurance check so he can become a true entrepeneur and invest in his own liquor store. Since religion played a vital role in Mama's reaction to this sinful act it really damaged Walter's hopes and dreams. Later in the book Mama finally decides to give Walter the money and leaves him with the responsibility of taking care of the family, this is where the rising action begins. Then the climax hits when Walter finds out that the mo ney he gave to his partner is gone. This leaves Walter and the rest of the family in a sudden feeling of disillusionment. Then as things cool down Walter and the rest of the family decide to go ahead and move into the all white neighborhood. The rest of the story is jam packed with racial, religious, economic, and even feministical motifs that aid in the release of all the true tensions in the novel, between characters, which Hansberry purposely relates to the reality of the way society really is. Her purpose for writing this book was to show the way society worked and to make it apparent how hard life was for a poor black family. Overall I really enjoyed this book. It had alot of realistic elements , enough to make the reader stay interested and more. The plot is dramatic and ends ironically. I gave this book 4 stars because it had all the elements of a good book it just did not have the ending I was expecting. I recommend this book t ...

HBOs Organizational Strategy and Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

HBOs Organizational Strategy and Culture - Essay Example HBO has adapted the organizational strategy of producing only those contents which other channels avoided to land their feet. In this sense, we can easily assume that HBO is largely focusing on practicing Differentiation as a strategy for its products which are offered to the vast majority of its audience. Thus its organizational strategy is based on differentiation. This is also evident from the fact that HBO over the period of time has been spending heavily in creating its brand identity which seems to be an excellent strategy especially in an industry environment which has very different and unique dynamics and a lot of competition to face. Further, an economic model which HBO is following is sort of unique in the sense that it provides it very readily available revenue as the viewers are charged only $12 over their basic cable bills allowing the company to have enough access to the funds to originate programs of unique and original quality. However, the contents produced are some what specific to one cultural stratum of the society and hardly serve the viewers which live in America but have different cultural values such as Hispanic, Spanish etc communities in the US. Â  The cultural aspect of the organization suggests that it is organizational which is largely driven by the creative ideas and an environment which allow unleashing creativity and innovation which is also evident from the contents produced on the channel. This approach towards developing an organizational culture of creativity, innovation and open communication can especially serve the interest of the channel in the long term because it would provide the necessary impetus to the organization.

Discrimination Of The African Americans Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Discrimination Of The African Americans - Essay Example However, the development in Southern part of America has been slow due to the presence of the ethnic group of African American. They are the people who faced dominance and low status in the nation due to their skin color. They have been deprived of various rights affecting their social and economic position1. The life of the people in this period has been was different and the amenities received depended a lot on their ethnicity and race. In this essay, the history and life of the African American are depicted who are facing challenges since 1877. In the year 1928, the life of the native people and the African Americans is dissimilar due to the presence of strong governance giving rise to inequality and a lack of self-esteem along with respect. In the current situation i.e. 1928, as an undergraduate student at Howard University, the perceived highs and lows of African Americans are being explored with the argument in between the period of 1877 to 1928. The African Americans live majo rly in the south and the prevailing challenging situation in the nation is affecting the lives of farmers. The jobs that are provided to the people of higher ranks are in the mines, tobacco, and ores. The blacks are deprived of every facility even if they have the potential than the whites. The educated blacks are positioned under the whites in order to suppress them. The position of the blacks although large in number is suppressed by the whites-only because of their color. Moreover, the women of the African American origin are forced to work for the whites as slaves. This is one of the low points faced by African Americans since 1877. This implies that according to the whites, the skin color is the only criteria for the people to get a job and status in the society irrespective of the fact the person has enormous potential2.

The Role And Importance Of Palliative Care Nursing Essay

The Role And Importance Of Palliative Care Nursing Essay When the patient has serious illness like cancer and came to the hospital and complaining from pain, anorexia and fatigue at this time what can he is suppose to do? The answer of this question is in the definition of palliative care. What is palliative care? Palliative care according to (World Health Organization [WHO], 2010) it is a medical profession stand up to helps the patients and families to come over the pain and other problems like physical, psychosocial and spiritual with life-threatening illness. This can be done by the prevention and relief of suffering and early assessment and treatment of pain. Palliative care according to (Get palliativecare.org, 2010) is provided by a team of professionals working together with your primary doctor. It is appropriate at any point in a serious illness and can be provided at the same time as treatment that is meant to cure. Moreover, patient in the end of life can face and experience a host of distressing symptoms such as pain, dyspnea, and delirium are reported to be among the most feared and burdensome. Also, pain can be influenced by many factors, including the patients prior experience with pain, meaning given to pain, emotional stresses, family, and culture influences (Mcphee papadakis, 2009). (Mcphee papadakis ,2009,p.70) stated that the common problem for patients at the end of life up to 75% of patients dying of cancer is the pain and it is what people say they fear most about dying. Therefore, nurses must be aware about the barriers to good care ,which including the lack of knowledge about the proper selection and dosing of analgesic medication ,limited training and clinical experience with pain management, addiction which can occurs if the patient and caregivers misused the medicines (Mcphee papadakis, 2009). In addition, there are 20 reasons can make the palliative care difficult to the nurses (Becker, 2010). I am going to mention some reasons; Shortage of staff. Shortage of nursing staff is one of the reasons which can make the palliative care difficult. In my experience in the hospital where I was working the staff nurses are in limited numbers , especially in the word the staff nurse can handle 9-12 patients some of these patients are having cancers and some time one staff nurse for 6 rooms each room has 5-7 patients!. Cancers patients cannot bear the pain and the staff nurse wants to do other work like inserting intravenous fluid for diabetic patient with hypoglycemia, so how the nurse can concentrate in doing that? Here the staff has to prioritize her work, some staff nurses finding difficulty to do that. Therefore the hospitals administration has to find and create a policy change in response to the nursing shortage as supported by Twigg , Duffield , Thompson Rapley (2010). In addition to that, as Abrahm(2010) stated that due to shortage of staff palliative care in oncologists, intensivists, advanced cardiac, pulmonary, renal, and hepatic diseases needs to be improved. Lack of knowledge of some medications and symptoms control. There were 146 surveys distributed to care providers from multiple settings. Out 135 0f 146 reported that there are several problems can make the palliative care difficult like poor pain and symptoms control, lack of education for care providers as stated by Sellick , Charles , Dagsvik , Kelley (1996) The availability of clear polices in dealing with death issues. In my experience only in some hospitals we can find clear polices in dealing with death issues especially brain death , this matter can involve many elements like; patient himself if he/she recommended before death if his/her brain died the caregiver can remove the supporting equipments, family according to the religion. So the staff nurse must be a wear about many religions. In understanding of the reasons and finding solutions to make the difficulties easier to the nurses can make too much improvement in quality of life. Quality of life can be affected by the level of education in heart failure patients. Patients with high education level often can improve more than low education level which usually reported to care givers in bad physical and functional condition as supported by Barbareschi, Sanderman, Leegte, van Veldhuisen Jaarsma (2011). In addition, there are two factors are related to quality of life in heart failure patients, demographic and clinical. Also physical excises one of the main elements of disease management program. (Jaarsma, Johansson, Agren , Strà ¶mberg ,2010) I want to stress in one point from my experience I did not see patient with heart failure has been cured totally from the disease, so I think the palliative care can play role to help this patient to enhance his quality of life. For example, one of the patients I was taking care of him he told me I am useless now! So for this type of patients I have to help him to move this idea from his mind, and let him to understand that the life did not end yet and we are finding developments in medical field, and give him task and encourage him to do it, after of compilation I have to enhance the feeling which he can feel it and let him to understand that he is worthfull and useful. Since I chose the heart failure I want to mention how the staff nurse can manage the pain in this case, which include: Pharmacologic treatment: like angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, ÃŽÂ ²-blockers, diuretics, and possibly aldosterone antagonists and angiotensin receptor blockers (Lewis, Heitkemper, Dirksen, OBrien Bucher, 2007). Diet and body weight: the recommended diet for these patients is low sodium diet to reduce body edema; recording upon admission body weight can detect the body weight if increased or no (Lewis et al., 2007). Behavioral and lifestyle management: exercise/physical activity: as stated by Benetti, Araujo, Santos (2010) exercises can improve the quality of life for heart failure. Therefore, the nurses must promote home and community-based care by taking the responsibility and contribute in education of patient and involve him to implement the therapeutic procedure to improve the quality of life. Teaching the patients and family how the progression of the disease is influenced by compliance with the treatment plan (Johnson, 2008, p.428). One of the most important points in improving quality of life as human being in my point of view is being opened to others .By this way the person can share others experience which can teach him/her something can change or improve the quality of life. In addition to that some patients need spiritual support which can make the life of some patients running in smooth way as supported by Hegarty , Abernethy , Olver Currow (2011). Also, the quality of life can enhanced by the disable patients rehabilitation. As will as, mixing patients with disabilities in right and balance way can improve the quality life as supported by (Fadyl, McPherson Kayes, 2011). So how the caregivers can measure the quality of life? The relationship among patients and families with caregivers can detect the quality of life as Hasson-Ohayon, Roe, Kravetz, Levy-Frank Meir (2011) stated in their article. And, in my opinion quality of life is not easy to measure it because different criteria. The quality of life can make the measurement is so complicated, but generally speaking the improvement of individual health can indicate in quality of life. Conclusion: The palliative care profession is can plays important role in professional healths fields by helping the patients and families to understand the serious illness and how to manage and improve the quality of life .By educating the nursing staff and they must be in university level in both arts and sciences (McEwen willss, 2007). As deeply supported by Henderson theory which stressing on the important of education for the nurses. In addition to that the caregiver should try their best to improve the quality of life which can lead to improve the palliative care, by understanding each individual is unique in many aspects and trying to deal differently accordingly. The hospitals managers should understand the teamworks conflict and create polices to solve the shortage of nursing staff can enhance the palliative care to reach to optimal quality of patients life.

Methods of Trafficking and Counters Essay -- essays research papers f

METHODS OF TRAFFICKING AND COUNTERS Many people choose to try and make fortunes through the illegal trade of drugs. This type of business gives the highest return of dollars spent, but is one of the hardest products to ship. There are many techniques that have been used throughout the years in order to try and get the illegal substances into the United States, which leads to the government’s response to counter the illegal transshipments. Although the War on Drugs appears to be a futile effort, there are many ways to tighten down on the drug traffickers and successfully put them out of business utilizing government tactics and education.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The main ways to ship illegal substances into the United States are by individual carry or by vehicle (land, sea, or air). The farmer or the manufacturers rarely ever attempt these methods, but instead utilize a third person to assume the risk for the transaction from supplier to the individuals seeking to either use or distribute the product. These individuals are called drug traffickers or â€Å"mules†, and the job does not discriminate between age, sex, or race.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  One of the most disgusting examples of a trafficker is when a child is involved. Neither the manufacturer nor the supplier seem to mind if a child is carrying the same drugs that will soon infect the neighborhood’s playground. â€Å"A twelve-year-old boy, acting as a drug mule, became ill after trying to transport 87 heroin-filled condoms from London to New York. Upon arrival, the boy exited the airport, hailed a cab to drop off the drugs, and found the drop-off empty, the boy then became ill and started passing the heroin bags† (Stars & Stripes, 10). The fact that a young boy was used to transport drugs is appalling, but worse is that this article was not front-page news, or even second or third. The United States has become so accustomed to these types of tragedies, which has brought a sense of numbness to the activities. In order to counter the use of young children’s involvement in the drug trade, citizens have to realize the importance of keeping the children out of the newspaper.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Every child in the United States has a parental figure that has been tasked with the responsibility of teaching that child right from wrong. When events occur to demonstrate that obviously th... ...nforcement needs to be notified. At no time should a citizen get involved in actually stopping the drug activity, but that person should know what to do in the case that an illegal activity is observed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The drug trade attracts many people with the lure of quick money and extravagant lifestyles. The truth of the seedy world of drugs needs to be exposed in order to totally confront the War on Drugs. The tactics that are used to fight against the traffickers of illegal drugs will not win the war alone. In order to defeat the drug lords and win the War on Drugs, every citizen of the United States must be enlisted. Although the War on Drugs appears to be a fruitless attempt, the road to success is paved with stronger government actions and better citizen support accomplished through education. WORKS CITED Clawson, Patrick. THE ANDEAN COCAINE INDUSTRY. New York, NY: Saint Martin’s, 1996. NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL STRATEGY,1997. Washington, DC: Office Of National Drug Control Policy, Executive Office of the President, 1997. STARS AND STRIPES. â€Å"Boy, 12, Swallows 87 Heroin-Filled Condoms† Vol 60, No 360; 14 April 2002.

Most Important Scientific Event of 2007

The scientific event with the most significant implications for the future was recognition of unique differences between genome sequences of individual people (Pennisi, 2007). It is believed that about 99.5% of human DNA is exactly the same in every person. Within that 0.5% lies the variations that are responsible for individual traits and diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, depression, alcoholism, heart disease, and other serious diseases (National Human Genome Research Institute). Genetic variations also affect how individuals respond to drugs and environmental factors. The goals of National Human Genome Research Institute are to discover and type single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and other forms of genetic variation on a large scale across the genome; to develop high-resolution maps of genetic variation and haplotypes; and to develop methods for the large-scale experimental and statistical analysis of SNPs, other forms of genetic variation, haplotypes and complex traits (National Human Genome Research Institute). Previous work on the human genome has including the search for a relationship between specific genes and various diseases, such as an â€Å"addiction gene† or a â€Å"cancer gene† or some similar link. This research has already led to the identification of specific genes that are responsible for several diseases. Previous research on the human genome has also identified what separates humans from other primates, genetically speaking. In addition to identifying the genome sequences that are responsible for diseases, breakthroughs that occurred during 2007 will allow scientists to pinpoint the genetic variations that make me, me and you, you. Individual genomes appear to include the causes of behavioral traits that had been previously attributed to personality or psychiatric characteristics and not to genetics (Pennisi, 2007). The most obvious application of this research will be in the use of gene therapy to combat diseases. At the simplest level, understanding an individual's predisposition towards certain diseases will allow physicians to recommend preventative treatments and lifestyle choices that can reduce or eliminate the genetic threat. On a more complex level, genetic research can provide new, customized treatments that are specifically designed to match the genetic needs of the individual patient. Genetic medicine could be used to treat diseases after the disease has developed or, in some cases, used to treat genetic disorders during pregnancy. While the medical applications for genome research show much promise, there are also serious implications for individual privacy and genetic discrimination. Once again, legal and ethical development has not kept pace with scientific and technological development. Despite the introduction of several pieces of legislation designed to help ensure genetic privacy and to shield individuals from the misuse of genetic information, there is still no federal legislation that addresses the issue of genetic discrimination in individual insurance coverage or to genetic discrimination in the workplace (U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, 2007). As the ability to sequence the genome sequences of individuals becomes more practical, insurance companies and other interested parties might consider it cost effective to use genetic sequencing to reduce any potential liabilities from policy holders or applicants. Many insurance companies already have policies regarding preexisting conditions. The leap from policies that exclude   preexisting conditions a policy that excludes diseases for which the individual has a genetic predisposition is not that far removed. The ability to map individual genomes will open new doors for medical treatment of disease. Hopefully, 2008 will see breakthroughs of a similar magnitude in ethics and laws regarding the gathering, sharing, and use of genetic information. References National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health (2008). Genetic variation program. Online. Retrieved May 1, 2008, from http://www.genome.gov/10001551 Pennisi, E. (2007). Breakthrough of the year: Human genetic variation. Science, 318 (5858), pp. 1842 – 1843. Retrieved May 1, 2008, from http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/318/5858/1842 U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science (2007). Genetics Privacy and Legislation. Online. Retrieved May 1, 2008, from http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/legislat.shtml