Depression: A Problem in an Aggregate of Atoms? :: Biology Essays Research Papers

Depression: A Problem in an Aggregate of Atoms? â€Å"The man who sees his neighbor only as an aggregate of atoms cannot have the same conception of his real self. He thus arrives necessarily at a fundamental contradiction.† - F. Husemann (1) Throughout history, depression was thought of simply as a flawed character condition. Fifty years ago, pharmaceutical treatments for depression did not exist. A major breakthrough occurred in 1974, when a study by scientists at Eli Lilly and Company concluded that a cause of depression is a chemical imbalance manifested by a malfunctioning serotogenic system (2). Many researchers and doctors asserted that â€Å"depression is not a moral weakness, nor mental sloth, but a true brain disease that can be successfully treated† (3).The treatment took the form of a series of drugs which are collectively known as antidepressants. Most of the literature on these drugs takes a one sided approach on what causes depression and how a â€Å"single action† molecule can treat it. At the same time, often the same article, asserts that depression is a â€Å"whole body† illness that affects a person’s physical and mental health, taking hostage of his/her whole existence (4). One molecule must have the ability to treat this condition, successfully alleviating all bad thoughts, curing the physical troubles that go along with it, and in effect, correcting the state of depression. But like with everything in life, it is just not that simple. Any inquiry into the depth of the nervous system has to begin with the understanding of its complexity. Many accounts of depression and the working of antidepressants, view human beings as â€Å"aggregation of atoms† and often fail to recognize the â€Å"real self,† which must at least encompass the complex and often incomprehensible interactions of those atoms. Pablo Picasso, one of the most famous artists, asserted that â€Å"every act of creation is first of all an act of destruction.† In the study of the nervous system, and how it is affected by various chemicals, the act of creation can be viewed as the uncovering of the truth. But this inquiry has to begin with the recognition of our lack of understanding, that is, we must destroy our prejudices of the certainty of our knowledge. In the following paper I will point out our current awareness of the state of depression and how and why antidepressants are thought to work. Also I will present some of the contradicting issues which arise from implications of what we know and what we do not know about the state of depression and the medium of its conduction - the nervous system.

Reducing oil dependence in United States of America Essay

Fossil fuels such as oil are the main source of energy used especially for modern vehicles. An important strategy to cut the oil dependence would be to use electricity as the source of energy because electricity is cheap and surplus in America (Sandalow, 2008). In order to reduce the oil dependence for the vehicles, the vehicles that run on electricity has to be generated. Although such vehicles are present, with the use of improved technologies, still better engines, which are light and which require less time for recharging could be produced and the dependence on oil could be reduced to a great extent. Here the electricity that is produced in an electrochemical cell is used. Although there are other methods of generating electricity such as utilizing wind power, solar energy etc, the use of such energy for vehicles in a feasible manner require much more research. Since the vehicles are the major consumer of oil, the best strategy to reduce oils dependence would be to use electrical energy from a battery to replace fuels used in vehicles. Foods with â€Å"no sugar added† label attached Sugar is a form of carbohydrate, which is one of the major nutrients required by our body. There are simple sugars as well as complex sugars. The sugar, which is added in the food, â€Å"table sugar†, is a simple sugar. Other forms of simple sugar such are lactose, fructose etc are present in foods such as milk, fruits, honey etc. The complex sugars such as starch are present in plenty in cereals, vegetables etc. These complex sugars would be converted into simple sugars in the body and can influence the blood glucose levels. Any food in which cereals, milk, fruits, vegetables etc are the ingredients, would contain significant amount of sugars. So even if sugar is not added in a food, it may contain sugar that would be dangerous for a diabetic patient. So even when the label â€Å"no sugar added† is there on any food item, it doesn’t mean a diabetic patient can safely consume that food. References Sandalow, D. (2009) Ending Oil Dependence :Protecting National Security, the Environment and the Economy. http://abcnews. go. com/images/Politics/PB_Energy_Sandalow. pdf. 2008 (accessed on 6 February 2009) Danoff, R. (2009) â€Å"No Sugar Added† Is Not a Free Ride. http://health. msn. com/health-topics/diabetes/articlepage. aspx? cp-documentid=100120404&vv=650 (accessed on 6 February 2009)

How To Make a Ketchup Packet Cartesian Diver

Place a ketchup packet in a bottle of water and make it rise and fall at your command, as if by magic. Of course, the magic involves some basic science, and squeezing the bottle. With a little practice, you can make it appear that you arent squeezing the bottle. If you are performing this demonstration as a magic trick you can say you are using the power of your mind to move the ketchup. Pretend to be concentrating very hard, using your incredible powers of telekinesis. How the Trick Works An air bubble is trapped inside a ketchup packet when it is sealed at the factory. If the bubble is big enough, it makes the packet float in water. When you squeeze the bottle, the water wont compress but the air bubble inside the ketchup packet is squeezed and becomes smaller. The size of the packet is reduced, but its mass remains unchanged. Density is mass per volume, so squeezing the bottle increases the density of the ketchup packet. When the density of the packet is more than the density of the water the packet will sink. When you release the pressure on the bottle the air bubble expands and the ketchup packet rises. Heres how to do the diving ketchup trick and how it works. What You Need Plastic bottleKetchup packet from a fast food restaurantWater Instructions Assemble your materials.Drop the ketchup packet into the bottle.Seal the lid of the bottle.Fill the bottle with water. The ketchup packet should float somewhere in the middle of the bottle.If it sinks, try using a different packet (the size of the air bubble inside the ketchup packet varies slightly) or else dump out the water and ketchup, bend the packet slightly so that it can hold an air bubble when you fill the bottle again, and refill the bottle. Trap an air bubble on a heavy packet and tap the bottle until you knock off enough bubbles to get the packet to the middle of the bottle.Squeeze the bottle to cause the ketchup packet to sink.Relax your grip on the bottle to cause the packet to float.