For my outreach project, I went to Clark Central High School to help a high school class record results from a lab. For the class period, I was with a third of the class and their group’s sleeve of Petri dishes. We sorted the dishes into their respective groups based on their set number and strength of antibiotic. I then had them count the bacteria colonies and record the information in a spreadsheet.
I enjoyed this experience as I was able to talk to many of the students and answer their questions about UGA and the differences between college and high school. My group was very respectful and asked good questions and I was able to answer most of them with what I believe is good advice. The majority of questions were about the UGA admissions process and I feel like I was able to help them out.
Through this outreach experience, I was able to broaden my knowledge of that particular lab as I had a more involved position at Clark Central. I was also able to act in a mentor role as the high school students all looked up to me and the other college kids that were there to help.
Male pattern baldness is a very common trait that affects around fifty million men in the United States, roughly fifty percent of the male population by the time that they reach fifty years of age, and eighty percent by the age of eighty (MacGill). Male pattern baldness is where hair thins out on the top and front of a man’s head causing a receding hairline and patchy hair. There are over 250 genes with genetic variations that impact male pattern baldness. The AR gene that codes for androgen receptor protein is one of the most important genes when it comes to hair loss. The main function of the androgen receptor protein that relates to hair follicles is to help hair follicle cells detect androgen hormones like testosterone. The testosterone affects whether or not a person’s hair will grow and how it grows. If these genes were altered, it would completely change the way that the hair grows and whether the hair grows or not (The Genetics of Baldness).
Why Get Tested?
Someone
would want to get this test to determine whether they are likely candidates to
get male pattern baldness. I would recommend taking the 23andMe genetic test as
it is a fairly cheap way to determine if you are likely to have male pattern
baldness. The 23andMe tests can range anywhere from $80 to $100 depending on
where you buy it from. The 23andMe test is not 100% reliable but if the results
say you are going bald, then you are most likely going bald. The test is less
reliable for non-Caucasian ethnicities, but still pretty reliable. Male pattern
baldness is hard to prevent, but if a man begins taking medications to slow hair
loss or to try to regrow hair. While male pattern baldness is not something that
is desired among American men, no health effects come along with it. Male
pattern baldness is purely aesthetic as no man with male pattern baldness is at
an increased risk of any disease because of the condition.
Think Before
You Spit
If
someone is uncomfortable with their genetic information being known by a large
organization, they should not take this test. 23andMe has resisted getting the
FDA to approve their test to be a “medical
device” on multiple occasions and has avoided contact with the FDA, so there
are certain sketchy elements of the company (Seife). If a person would rather
not know the likelihood of them getting male pattern baldness, they should not
take this test. The test is not 100% accurate so it is possible for someone to
take the test, have the results say that they will bald, and then not have male
pattern baldness.
Ethical
Considerations
The
consumer who purchases and takes the 23andMe test must think it is acceptable
for the company to have their genetic information stored. The consumer must
also be prepared for the stress and sadness of a possible test result that puts
them at higher risk to get male pattern baldness or something worse, such as something
that is life-threatening like cancer. I could not find any studies on how
people react to male pattern baldness, most likely because male pattern
baldness is not life-threatening, only potentially depressing.
Asking the
Right Questions Before Getting the Test
Genetics
is the most influential factor for male pattern baldness as 79% of cases are
hereditary, but it is not the only factor (Myth Busting). Stress is also a
cause of hair loss, so if someone is constantly in stressful situations, they
become more likely to develop male pattern baldness. Generally, the most
important relative for male pattern baldness is the maternal grandfather. Male
pattern baldness is an X-linked trait so it is passed down along the mother’s
side of the family. Whether or not a person’s maternal grandfather has male
pattern baldness is extremely influential on whether or not the person will
have male pattern baldness. There is not much that a person can do to prevent
hair loss, so if a person takes the test and it comes back positive for male
pattern baldness, they can only take medications to slow hair loss like
Finasteride or try products like Rogaine to try to regrow hair.
Citations
Baldness. SNPedia. https://www.snpedia.com/index.php/Baldness. Accessed November 14, 2019.
MacGill M. Male
pattern baldness: Causes and treatment. Medical News Today.
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/68077.php. Published July 28, 2017.
Accessed December 10, 2019.
Myth Busting: The
Baldness Gene. hims. https://www.forhims.com/blog/baldness-gene. Accessed
November 14, 2019.
Seife C. 23andMe Is
Terrifying, but Not for the Reasons the FDA Thinks. Scientific American.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/23andme-is-terrifying-but-not-for-the-reasons-the-fda-thinks/.
Published November 27, 2013. Accessed November 14, 2019.
The genetics of
baldness: More complex than you might think. Helix.
https://blog.helix.com/male-pattern-baldness-genetics/. Published July 23,
2019. Accessed November 14, 2019.
When I played my role in the policy exercise, I had mixed emotions. I felt like, as the USA, we had more bargaining power than any other group so we should be able to have the greatest effect on reducing world emissions. I was kind of frustrated at how long it took for everyone to negotiate and also at how little each adjustment affected the climate. My group became much more willing to donate money and to decrease carbon emissions as the simulation progressed. We realized, through negotiations with China, that our two nations needed to come together and commit to an earlier peak year. We were able to get China to work with us by matching their donations. I believe that emissions can be cut but it might be a “too little, too late” scenario regarding climate damage. The major barrier to the implementation of proposals was that we did not want to take an economic hit to make a small improvement to the climate. We were less likely to give more money if it only had a small impact. To catalyze change in the US, we need to raise public awareness of the issues with our climate to get more public support for climate-friendly bills and to make people more likely to reduce our own emissions.
In this picture I see a drain with a large warning posted right next to it.
I noticed how hard it is to miss the warning as it uses colors that contrast the surrounding environment and how many of these drains have the same warning next to them around campus.
This picture makes me realize how much of a problem public dumping that leads to rivers is in our community. If there was no problem or if it was a small problem, there would not be so many of these warnings around our community.
I feel guilty when I look at this picture because I, along with many others, occasionally throws some small item of trash into these drains without thinking of the consequences to the environment. However, I feel better that there are actions being done to prevent this.
I think this picture reveals that there is a problem with public trash being drained into the river, but that there are actions being taken to prevent this phenomenon.
I took AP Physics, AP Chemistry, and Pre-AP Biology in high school and I enjoyed Physics the most because the teacher made learning fun. I would most like to get an A and 3 credit hours out of this course. I have gone to UGA football games my entire life and I always cringe when I see the trash on this beautiful campus so the tailgating project appeals most to me. I would like to learn more about the impact of eating habits on humans.
