Alcoholism Blog

What is alcoholism?

The definition of alcoholism is “an addiction to the consumption of alcoholic liquor or the mental illness and compulsive behavior resulting from alcohol dependency” (google). This “dependency” on alcohol increases health risks greatly in comparison to those who are not dependent on alcohol. The National Institute of Health (NIH) shares statistics saying 5.7% of people 18 and older have AUD (alcohol use disorder), while 1.8% of children 12-17 have AUD. NIH also shares the risks of alcohol disorders: liver failure, strokes, cardiomyopathy, and much more.

According to SNPedia, there are 6 main genes & 7 SNPs that impact likelihood of alcohol dependency. The six genes include: GHS-R1A, GABRA 2, SLC6A4, OPRM1, D2, and SLC6A3. Many of these genes are genes expressed in the brain, opioid receptor, dopamine receptor, dopamine transporter gene, neurotransmitter transporter. This is part of the reason alcoholism is a very dangerous disease and hard to overcome.

Testing for Alcoholism

There are many reasons people would want to get tested for increased alcoholism related traits. SNPs such as rs27048 and rs27072 are associated with very dangerous symptoms, such as seizures. For these two SNPs, I would recommend a SNP test, which would cost around $200. If one wants to see if they simply have increased chances for alcoholism, they would need a whole genome sequence testing, which costs hundreds of dollars. If one wants one specific test for the most common allele, they can also do that by single-gene testing. Personally, I would only recommend using whole genome sequencing if you have increased likelihood of severe symptoms or if alcoholism runs in your family. Ultimately, there is a strong correlation between alcoholism and genetics.

Downsides of Testing

Taking a whole genome sequencing test can inform one of many different variations within all of their genes. This can potentially lead them to variations in alleles they didn’t affect that increase risks for other diseases. Limitations for this test are that not all variations of the alleles increase the risk by a substantial amount; therefore, there is a possibility $1000+ may allow you to find something out that does not matter too much. There are a few disadvantages of this test. First, the role of most of the genes in the human genome is still unknown or incompletely understood. Therefore, a lot of the “information” found in a human genome sequence is unusable at present. Also, an individual’s genome may contain information that they do not want to know. For example, a patient could undergo genome sequencing in order to determine the most effective treatment plan for high cholesterol. In the process, researchers could potentially find an allele that relates to a terminal illness with no effective treatment.

Ethical Concerns

Considering how vast the information in a whole genome sequence test is, it is dangerous if this information is released, and since these tests are newer, security measures to protect this information is still new. Thus, increasing the likelihood of personal information being released. Also, people often find out about diseases they have that they did not expect. This can cause people to become shocked and/or depressed.

Facts about Alcoholism & Precautions to Take
1. FACT: It is less than 50% likely for a child to develop alcoholism if their parent had it.
1. FACT: Alcoholism is roughly half genetics and half hereditary.
1. PRECAUTION: Become more cautious if you have the SNP that increases likely hood of alcoholism. Be aware when drinking or take measures if already an alcoholic.
1. PRECUATION: If one is being cautious their self, they do not necessarily need to inform doctors, but rather family. However, if it is getting out of hand, they need to go to rehab and should immediately consult a doctor.
1. PRECAUTION: No screenings necessary unless excessive binge drinking has occurred… should check liver and other body parts to ensure there is not any organ failure.

Works Cited

“Alcohol Facts and Statistics.” National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 20 Nov. 2019, www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/alcohol-facts-and-statistics.

“Alcoholism.” SNPedia, www.snpedia.com/index.php/Alcoholism.

Christensen, Kurt D, and Robert C Green. “How Could Disclosing Incidental Information from Whole-Genome Sequencing Affect Patient Behavior?” Personalized Medicine, U.S. National Library of Medicine, June 2013, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3852635/.

Crane, Marisa. “Is Alcoholism Hereditary or Genetic?” American Addiction Centers, americanaddictioncenters.org/alcoholism-treatment/symptoms-and-signs/hereditary-or-genetic.

“Whole Genome Sequencing.” Genetics Generation, knowgenetics.org/whole-genome-sequencing/.

Service Learning Outreach Reflection: Tailgate Clean-Up

This is just a few of the trash items I saw! 🙁

For my service outreach project, I was part of the tailgate clean up group. As someone who loves to tailgate, I see trash thrown all over the place before football games. Many people neglect to use the trashcans while drinking and eating. This creates a monster cleanup needed for the next day. Since I was so interested in the mess that would be there the next day, I started a bit earlier than the others and woke up around 8 a.m. to see what remnants of trash remained. I started at the field near O-house. Here, I saw beer cans, coke cans, pringles trash, and much more. I was in awe. I started to pick up here with a trash bag. After I did this, I went to other locations: frat houses, parking lots, and so on. Here, I saw similar things. There was trash everywhere. I continued to pick up until the trash bags I brought were full.

This whole experience made me feel very frustrated and angry. How hard is it to throw away your own trash in a trash can? If everyone threw away their own trash, which should not even have to be asked, there would be no mess to clean up or potential dangers made for animals.

This experience was helpful to see how much trash really remains after tailgates. I am now a lot more passionate about keeping the environment clean because seeing all of the cans and other trash truly hurt my heart. I am not one to clean often, so I was probably not as diligent as I could’ve been; however, I am now way more interested keeping the earth clean and doing clean-ups after events.

I will not ever litter again, especially in a place that is my new home. I am going to make sure the people I am with also throw their trash away, and if I see anyone fooling around and making a mess without cleaning it up, I will be sure to call them out. By doing this, I hope others will realize in the future how important it is to keep your environment clean.

Haden Jones – Climate Change Simulation

When I played my role in the policy exercise, I started off very confused and taken aback at all the countries trying to create deals/agreements so quickly. I was a part of the China team. This was challenging because China produces the largest amount of CO₂ emissions. Even though this amount has decreased, we were still the leaders of CO₂ emissions by a good amount. It seemed almost impossible to make a change that could better help the world’s problem of global warming and climate change.

Changes in emotion: My emotions did not change too much throughout this activity. I remained pretty overwhelmed throughout and unsure how to help solve this problem in an effective way.

Changes in ideas & what prompted this change: Considering China was largely at fault for this problem, it was inevitable we would have to share finances in order to gain deals. The money that we initially decided to give went up 3 billion dollars and our peak year went down 10 years. This change in money was due to United States agreeing they would also give the same amount.

Can emissions really be cut? Honestly, I do believe emissions can be cut; however, I do not believe there will be a time where there are no emissions. At the end of the day, we are not the real policy makers. Creating real change would most likely require more money and take a lot more time to find a deal all countries agree with.

Cost barriers: There was one problem with cutting emissions for China: afforestation. In China, there are many places that it would be hard to do this because farmland is a necessity in China, and trees cannot be planted in those areas.

Change in US: In order to catalyze change in the United States, we would need to somehow reduce the CO₂ emissions. In order to do this, governmental change would need to be implemented. As one citizen, we could help by having more protests on climate change in the capital. Ultimately, the only way we can try to catalyze change is to spread the dangers of climate change.

Haden Watershed Reflection

Here is a photo of the drain that says “No dumping. Drains to river”

In this picture, I see a drain with a sign.
What I notice in this picture is that most drains do not have a sign in front of them.
What this picture makes me think about: What do you think someone would interpret this at first? I think people are often lazy and might throw something down into the drain that flows into the river before even reading it. 🙁 I hope the sign makes people think more about what they dispose of and how they dispose of things.
When I look at this picture, I feel: I feel confused as to why anyone would ever dump anything (whether it’s trash, food, etc.) down a drain.
I think this picture is about: This picture is very self explanatory. A drain with a caption.

Haden Jones Introduction

I took AP Physics and AP Chemistry in high-school, but I never loved either of them. I enjoyed my honors chemistry class as a sophomore most.
I would like to refresh my memory on the basics of biology, while simultaneously learning new things about the environment.
Outreach with Clarke Central High School Students- I have been in this area and to schools in Athens while playing tennis tournaments, so I would love to meet more high-schoolers and help them with their data analysis. It is appealing to help the environment and animals.
We would learn more about the environmental problems within our new community.
I would like to learn more about genetic testing.