rants and rambles

My Valedictorian Speech

I’m graduating next week and have been blessed with opportunity to present one of five Valedictorian Speeches. I know I’m cutting it kind of close,  but this is my rough draft. I hope I will have time this weekend to make it better. Enjoy!

Hi! Thank you family, friends, faculty, and of course, Tech High’s graduation class of 2010 so very much for being here today. I would just like to say that it is such an honor for me to be up here giving a valedictorian speech. But yesterday, things were a little different. Yesterday, I woke up and greeted the world as a high schooler. Today, I stand before with Technology High Schools 60 finest graduates, if I do say so myself. When I stand here, and think about just how far each of us has come, it just astounds me and leave me with no words. All I can truly say to everybody is, thank you for the unforgettable experience.

Despite all the times I’ve said, “You guys are jerks” and “Yeah well your moustache looks stupid” I’ve never been in a class that I’ve been so attached to and so fond of as you guys. These past four years were an amazing four years, from long summer days spent cruising around town, to endless clear nights spent watching meteor showers in an open field, I owe each and everyone of those memories to you guys.

Even though guys were never my avant-garde, I’ll never forget when that cute boy finally asked you out. And for a few moments, we dropped our mature and esteemed freshmen facade, and skipped from Tech High all the way to the flag post.

Oil

Imagine an overly polluted world, where the waters run black with pollution. Where the morning fog is brown, and to do the simple task of walking outside, you need gas mask. Where you can’t take your children to the beach because the skyline is dominated by colossal unsightly oil rigs, the water is void of marine life, and the blue skies have been replaced with brown, orange, and black hues. In this world, our nation has fallen into a depressing economic slump, we have become a third world country doomed to this abyss. If we drill for offshore oil, this world may not be so far fetched.

We can see this disaster’s effects by a recent poll. Just a month ago, off shore drilling had an approval rating of about 64%. After BP oil spill, that statistic has plummeted to 40%. With such a drastic fall, people are putting the blame on many things. There are many heated debates going on today and one of the biggest one is the debate over offshore drilling in general. The US currently has countless oil companies drilling offshore scattered across numerous holds. There are also another 5,500 holds which are currently not being used. On top of our current environmental state, which is obviously not doing so great, there some some who have the audacity to propose to lift some bans on offshore drilling. They argue that there are an estimated 30 billion barrels of oil available in the US alone and that we should, “drill baby drill”. But as you can see the BP oil spill, just because we have the resources, does not mean that we should take advantage of it. (http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0872964.html)

Not only is offshore drilling is a waste of time and money, but it’s also a waste of space. For an oil rig to be built, and estimated 10,000 miles would be needed to be dug. And that’s just for placing pipes! On top of that, just imagine how much waste each rig would produce. This would have devastating effects on fish the marine life. With no aquatic activity, we can basically say good bye to beloved beautiful California coast. Another terrible thing about these oil rigs is that the places that they need to be built on are ideal locations for hurricanes. In the last 50 years alone, over 850 barrels of oil have been spilt. So if the waste produced wont kill the marine life, the oil spill will. (http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=6312&page=9)

The Cosmological Constant

Albert Einstein

A subject that has captured the interest of human kind throughout the ages is the universe. From ancient oracles to modern astronomers, man has never ceased their curiosity of space. There have been countless highly influential scientist throughout our time but none so influential in the past century as Albert Einstein. In 1916, he published his theory of general relativity. His theory calculated and described the characteristics of gravity. He wanted to expand his theory and have it apply to the universe as whole so he introduced a new concept to his theory called the cosmological constant. In his theory, the cosmological constant was an anti-gravitational force that filled the empty vacuum of space. This force worked against gravity to prevent the universe from collapsing on itself and predicted a static universe. While his theory made sense at the time, it was only six year after the theory was published when Hubble and many other scientist proved that the universe was not static but in fact expanding. Due to these discoveries, Einstein dropped the cosmological constant and deemed it the biggest blunder of his life. But recent discoveries show that there is a mysterious force in space that causes our universe to expand but also prevents the galaxies from growing. Strangely enough, this mysterious force, which scientist have named dark energy, has characteristics very similar to Einstein’s cosmological constant. (http://super.colorado.edu/~michaele/Lambda/blund.html)

Dark energy was first discovered approximately 10 years ago by a group of astronomers. These astronomers were trying to tract the expansion of the universe by using supernovas, or exploding stars, as markers. Their research concluded that the rate of expansion of our universe was actually increasing. This measurement was unusual and unpredicted because scientist have always believeed that the universe was expanding due to the echoes of the Big Bang. Logically, we would assume that the rate of expansion would be decreasing. But because it wasn’t, scientist theorized that the vacuum of space was diffused with an abstruse anti-gravitational force. They called this anti-gravitational force dark energy. Dark energy not only increases the rate of expansion of our universe, but it also stunts the growth of our galaxies. Galaxies start off as clumps of energy and particles and grow as gravity pulls in other particles. Dark energy prevents galaxies from growing because it’s anti-gravitational force push materials back out. Strangely enough, these idiosyncrasies of dark energy are similar to those previously described by Einstein as the cosmological constant.

Could the mysterious force scientist have described as dark energy really be the hypothetical cosmological constant? While some scientist might argue that it is reasonable to some extent, there are others who firmly believe other wise. Their biggest argument is the sheer size of the cosmological constant. The cosmological constant should be the force that counteracts the gravity of the center of the universe and prevents it from collapsing on itself. And if the calculations are correct, the anti-gravitational force of the cosmological constant would be so big that stars and planets would cease to exist. (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071127142128.htm)

Even though the complete description of the cosmological constant is does not totally assimilate with the accepted laws of the universe, this does not mean that it is completely incorrect. Scientist shouldn’t entirely disregard the constant. Perhaps one day, when more is known about the furtive force called dark energy, the cosmological constant could be used a base for fully understanding dark energy truly is.

Its this iffy knowledge that we have on dark energy that makes the cosmological constant have as much possibility of being on the dot as it does being totally off. In fact, some believe that the only way the scientific community can learn from this puzzle is by ruling it out altogether. This situation can be seen as an enigma. Perhaps almost like a barrier in the progress of science because the concept is so puzzling, there is little that completely grasped. While some may see this is a halt in the path of scientific discoveries, there are other who view this case as a spark. You see, with text book after text book being written about every topic imaginable, it’s no wonder many people believe humans know just about everything. But in reality, man kind is nothing more than an insignificant spec in the wonder we call our universe. It’s situations like these which makes us realize that despite all our knowledge, there is so much more to discover. And if there’s something positive to take from this, it’s motivation, for all of us, to continue to wonder and study the natural world we call our home.

Parenting Tip

It was a chilly day in early March and my little six year old sister Ifa was running around the house in nothing but a thin t-shirt and shorts. She always had a higher tolerance for cold weather than I did, but that never prevented her from always being the first one to catch a cold.

“Ifa!” I exclaimed, as I chased her around the living room, “you put on this jacket right now! If you don’t…”

Yelling something along the lines of, “I’m going to slap you so hard that -insert graphic and colorful hyperbole here-!” seemed to be the perfect thing to say at this moment. But of course, my mature and civilized self knew better. If there was one thing that I’ve heard most often about parenting, it is the fact that spanking a child is never the right way to go.

Let’s take, for an example, a child who is throwing a wild temper tantrum due to the fact that they were not allowed to watch their favorite television program because they didn’t finish their lunch. In a situation like this, parents across the nation almost unanimously agree that timeouts are a better tool used when raising a “spirited” child.

Many people think that a kid may put on such a show because they simply can’t control their desires. This results in the mad rampant full of tears and screams. Because of this, the first step of a timeout is to calm the child down. They are put in an isolated location, (like a kitchen, a corner, or possibly a bedroom) and aren’t allowed to interact with anything. With nothing to do except to sit there, the child will eventually calms down. Depending on the age and maturity of the child, they may even think about what they did and learn to not do it again. (http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/parenting/timeout.shtml)

Timeouts are revered by psychologist and parents alike.  Despite the fact however, there are many people who feel that timeouts can’t do what a good old fashioned spank across the rear can. When children begin kicking and screaming on the floor, or if they ignore commands when they are asked to complete a simple task, nothing reminds the kids who’s boss like a simple flick of the wrist. In one easy swing, the tears cease and it is as if the problem simply went away.

This “trick of parenting” doesn’t come without a price however. Raising children with physical disciplinary actions have been linked to aggressive children numerous times. Kids raised with the “stop crying or I’ll give you something to cry about” approach is not always the best. These kids tend to be more violent as they grow older. They are so used to being subjected to force when they miss behave, that they grow thinking that this is the an acceptable way to deal with their other problems.

There have been countless studies that try to conclude, with strong evidence, that spanking kids at a young have evidently negative effects on them in the near future. A recent study took 2,500 mothers and their three year old child and asked them about how often they spanked their child. Among the 2,500 people in the test, 45.6% of them said that they never spanked their child, 27.9% said that their child was spanked once or twice within the last month, and 26.5% said that their child was spanked more than two times in the last month.

After considering other factors like neglect, violence at home, maternal stress/depression, and other things like that, the data still suggest that spanking children causes them to be more aggressive in the near future.

Aggressive children have been linked to being raised with physical disciplinary actions. In fact, the 27.9% ad 26.5% of children who were spanked were more likely to be “defiant, demand immediate satisfaction of their wants and needs, get frustrated easily, having temper tantrums and lash out physically against others” (http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=122944) compared to the 45.6% of those who weren’t spanked. Also, the study concluded that the chances of children being aggressive by the age of five increased by 50% if the child was normally spanked when they miss behaved before the age of three.

This is because children who are spanked learn to deal with problems this way. They see that their parents use force to get things their way. Children see their parents turn violent to solve the problem of fitful children. Because of this, children learn to also use violence to get their way. This is why children become aggressive as they get older.

Remembering this article, I decide that perhaps physically showing Ifa who was boss wouldn’t be the greatest way to deal with the problem. Even though a timeout would take more effort and patients on my part, it will definitely be better for the both of us in the long run than a spank.

“Ifa…” I sighed, “please put on your jacket or I’ll put you in the corner.”

A Snippet on Darfur

Countless in refugee camps, emaciated children, and mass burials. Rarely, these are the words that describe an entire region. But these are the words that are often times used to describe Darfur. There is not a clear number about how many people live in the region. It is located in Western Sudan and is about the size of France. Darfur, Arabic for “land of the Fur (people)”, is characterized by dry sandy valleys and the Sahara desert to its North. To its west lies Chad, and to its north-east lies the Sahara desert.

While above ground may seem dry and barren, under ground is a different story. The land has deposits of gold, aluminum, diamonds, uranium, and copper. There are also large, bodies of water. And despite the fact that China already holds a large oil concession, Darfur has enormous untouched oil reserves that some experts predict to rival those of Saudi Arabia.

The region is shared between 35 tribes and ethnic groups. Despite their differences, they are all black Africans and indigenous. They also share Arabic as their common language. About half the people there live as farmers, while the other half live as nomads.

Many say that Darfur’s troubles came about when a famine swept through the region. The harsh conditions turned people hostile and the land no longer became a safe place to live. In desperation, people began raiding nearby villages and stealing grazing livestock that wandered a little too far. The violence continued as malicious groups began raiding villages in the reckless attempt to survive, spreading deadly mayhem as they went.

In 2003, the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) took up arms against the government. They blamed the onslaught on the government and their neglected of the region. With countless people driven from their homes by fear and violence, the rebel groups felt the government had failed their own people and were the ones responsible. After the rebel groups attacks on government soldiers, the government turned to force to suppress their movement. It was during this time when Darfur began catching the eyes of the world.

Even with international attention however, things did not improve for the people of the region. The violence continued as it was reported that another group, the Janjaweed, began wreaking havoc. It is not clear where this group came from and what their motives were. The Janjaweed has, however, have been linked to the Sudanese government and are believed to be financially supported by them.

It has been eight years since the violence began and the end does not seem to be near. To this day, rebel groups still run rampant through the region. And while the government should be the one who fixes this situation, it is the government that the international community is blaming.

Hope is not all lost for Darfur however. If there’s one distinctive thing about humans it’s community and the ability to pull through tragedy. And just like every tragedy mankind has faced, man will surely face this one successfully. But to do so, people must come together from across the spectrum; pulling collectively help our fellow man.

One of the first groups to take notice of Darfur and make efforts to help its people was Amnesty International. Between the years of 2003 and 2004, they collected a series of eyewitness accounts and in-location documentation of what was going on in Darfur. Their work caught the attention of the UN. On September 18th of 2004, the UN enacted a Commission of Inquiry to asses what was going on.

Another group that took notice of Darfur was the African Union. In 2004, the AU leaders met in Chad’s capital to negotiate a cease fire between the government and the rebel groups. The treaty was signed on April 8th. Despite the fact that the rebel groups still disregard the cease fire, the African Union has not given up home on Darfur. Two years later, a more successful Darfur Peace Treaty was signed by not only the government but also a few rebel groups. One such rebel group was the Sudan Liberation Army, one of the larger groups.

In mid-2004, the African Union sent 7,000 people to keep the region under surveillance and also to protect its people. Due to the fact that they were under-equipped and their small number however, they could make the change the AU had hoped to see. In spite of this, African Union continued its efforts. Only July 31st, 2007, AU joined forces with the UN to send a coalition of 26,000 peace keepers and police.

Not only has international groups from around the world come together for Darfur, but so have groups from right here in the United States. The Save Darfur Coalition, Eyes on Darfur website, and the Help Darfur Now Organization are just some of the countless efforts put forth by people from right here in America. With so many people caring and working for Darfur, it is without a doubt that things will surly improve for the land and its people.

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Oh Calculus

I like doing my calculus homework. While most run from theirs, I often turn to it for comfort at the end of a long day. To me, this pleasantly agreeable nature of math comes from it’s consistency. Even though I may be convinced that my chemistry teacher adores me one day but is out to get me the next, the case isn’t true for math. Dx e^(x) will always equal e^(x), no matter how terribly I did on a chemistry quiz. Of course, this sense of comfort doesn’t come without a process of painful dendrite growing. And it isn’t until after I examine a problem for what seems like ages, before I finally understand how to do them. Putting substantial effort into a task and then finally attaining success always gives me a sense of accomplishment that is difficult to replicate.

Even though I enjoy math, it hasn’t come effortlessly. Trust me, I’ve had my fair share of paper baskets over flowing with scratch paper. Of all the math classes I have taken, calculus is probably the most challenging. I remember sitting in the second row on the first day of calculus thinking that it would be like any other math course. I figured I wouldn’t need to worry about the complicated math until after dinner, as I always have with math. Boy was I wrong.

Calculus turned out to be this great mess of graphs and polynomials. While the numbers worked beautifully when the professor did the problems, the numbers refused to cooperate at all during my attempts. It wasn’t after three hours and half of a rainforest worth of scratch paper later did I finally understand how to do a basic problem. After understanding the concept however, the rest of the homework seemed to slowly come together. It was as if calculus was one extensive, intricate puzzle and I was finally seeing how the pieces fit together. At the end of my mentally exhausting endeavor, there wasn’t a feeling more satisfying then when I held up my finished calculus homework, as a bead of sweat rolled down my brow. The puzzle was finally complete.

Calculus is my most challenging class this semester, but it is also my favorite. While I may spend two eternities more trying to understand the homework than I usually do for my other classes, I have learned so much more. Through calculus, I learned not only the value of a Riemann sum, but also the value of hard work. Above luck and genetics, I believe it is dedication and perseverance that lead to accomplishment. And even though it’s nice to see that beautiful A at the end of a hard working semester, it means so much more knowing how much work I devoted for it.

My Typhoid Experience

On the south-western coast of the island of Java, Indonesia is a small town called Pangandaran. There, children catch lightning bugs in the evening and rice patties grow as far as the eye can see. To most people, this is a distant land. To me, this is home. I visit Pangandaran, my mother’s birthplace, every time I visit Indonesia. The beauty of my land and my family instill in me a sense of rustic paradise. But behind their illuminating smiles isn’t all sunshine and happiness. Life there can be struggle. Each day my own relatives face poverty and disease. After experiencing a disease myself, I realized that even though disease is common, it shouldn’t be so easily tolerated.

During one trip to Pangadaran when I was 12, I caught typhoid after buying bakso (Indonesian soup) from a street vender. Eating food in Indonesia is always a gamble.Luckily, my parents were able to afford the medical treatment and I recovered two weeks later. After I got better, I noticed that catching diseases like typhoid wasn’t that rare in Pangandaran, or any rural part of Indonesia for that matter. A great majority of people simply didn’t have the resources to seek medical care. It was an eye opening experience to see diseases that I thought were rare and almost mythical actually played a prevalent part in the country.

It is saddening to see that the people of Pangandaran get no outside help because they live in a place that doesn’t exist to most people. But I know they exist. I know their struggles, I know their stories, I even know their names. It is this deep tie that I have with the people of Pangandaran that made me realize that of all people, I should be the one to help them. This may sound like some crazy dream, but I know I have the potential to make a difference.

Today, I attend a small alternative high school that focuses in science. It is through this focus I realized I have a passion for biology. After taking several biology courses and volunteering with countless health organizations, I knew I wanted to pursue a career in medicine as a physician.

Every time I return from Pangandaran, my dream of one day making a difference is revitalized. I know getting into medical school will be hard work and my experiences there continue to push me to work hard. On weekdays, I come home at 7 pm to juggle five classes, four clubs, and two presidencies. Outside of school, I volunteer at two local hospitals not only to fulfill my graduation requirement, but also to start making some difference in the medical field. In the future, I know I can make a bigger difference. I want to one day return to Pangandaran with with a medical degree and  the ability to help people improve their quality of life who otherwise can’t afford to do so. And with the financial security which will hopefully come with my career, I want to fund a free clinic so that I may help even more people who are in need. Realistically speaking, I may not be the person to rid the world of disease, but I know can do my part.

A Look at Lying

We all know the story of the boy who cried wolf. For anyone who lived their childhood in a cave, the story is about a shepherd. This shepherd decided to make his life more interesting by lying. A vampire came and attacked the  shepherd boy, and in his confusion, the boy cried out “wolf!” A wolf came, beckoned by the boy’s cries. The vampire and wolf fought long and hard, and in the end, the wolf won. This vampire’s name was Edward, and the wolf’s name was Jacob. Jacob ate Edward, and told the town of his apparent wrong-doing. The town was happy that Jacob had killed Edward, and gave Jacob his own holiday. National “Edward is a Wuss” Day was a huge success, but the little shepherd boy felt cheated. The shepherd boy had called the wolf, which led to Edward’s death, but he had received none of the credit. The boy made the decision to lie. He told authorities that Jacob was having an affair with Kate Gosselin. The authorities investigated, and the rumor was proven untrue. This enraged the shepherd, so he tried again. This time, he told E! reporters that Jacob was having an affair with Megan Fox. The reporters investigated, but could not substantiate this claim with any evidence. People began to feel suspicious about any rumors coming from the shepherd. Dismayed, the shepherd decided to go out and get proof himself. He camped outside of Jacob’s home. After weeks, the shepherd-turned-paparazzi took the picture he was waiting for. He brought this picture of Jacob kissing Lady Gaga to TMZ. TMZ had heard rumors of the shepherd, and thus did not believe the boy’s story. Defeated, the boy lived the remainder of his life poor and alone and accumulated 50 cats which he believed were sheep.

One of the reasons why lying plays such a significant role in our society is because it’s something that has been engrained into us since we were children. And wether we realize it or not, we were trained and supported by our parents. When we were little kids, life was pretty simple. When something was funny, we laughed and when something wasn’t right, we cried. But then society got a little complicated. All of the sudden it wasn’t okay to laugh at your friends when they fell off the play ground and it wasn’t cute anymore to start sobbing when we got a little hungry. This was when our parents introduced to us the art of deception. You see, certain behaviors are only appropriate for certain social circumstances. Through “manners” we learned to display the proper reactions even though the honest reaction is the opposite. So the next time our friend got injured, we looked concerned and went for help, and when we got hungry, we sucked it up and asked for food. As we got older, this ability to cloud the truth for the sake of complying with societal norms, was quickly manipulated for personal benefits. It wasn’t hard for us to apply this same concept of deceit when we got in trouble or when we wanted to get out of somethig. And this whole time were introducing ourselves to the world of fabrication, our parents were serving up their own brand of lies.

While their motives may be a little more selfless, parents still lie. They tell children lies to make adult situations easier to understand. As 5 year olds, we knew that babies are here, but we don’t know where they come from. The easiest answer is a lie: Babies come from the Stork. A 5 year old cannot possibly grasp that men and women have this weird thing which leads to a baby growing inside of mommy’s womb because daddy’s spermatozoon fertilized mommy’s oocytes. Nine months later, after labor, uterine contractions, and cervix dialation, mommy and daddy return home with a screaming, pooping creature. A 5 year old can, however, understand that mommy and daddy ask the stork for a baby, and one day the baby shows up in all of his screaming, pooping glory.

Parenting will no doubt lead to quite a few lies. Lies such as “The kitty on the side of the road is just sleeping.” and “Of course I love you all the same!” Are these lies validated? These lies, at heart, are on the same level as all other lies. Why do we feel so justified in lying openly to children? Lies such as “Your pet fish ran away” feel more right because we’re avoiding a harsh truth which children may have a difficult time grasping. What about the lie about Santa Claus? This doesn’t avoid any type of potentially saddening or traumatizing news, but we still feel completely comfortable lying to children about Santa.

Why do we continue this tradition? Part of the reason is that everyone else lies about the magic of Santa Claus, so how could we leave our children out on the magic? Using this logic, its as if to say that as long as everyone else lies, it’s okay to lie too. Is this really how we want to justify lying about Santa? If we justify Santa, we can just as easily justify all of those little white lies which pop up every day. We all lie very often, especially when it comes to relationships. A study found that dating couples lied to their significant other in about a third of their interactions.We lie very often, and feel justified a majority of the time. Why? Why has lying become so easy?We all lie to each other, but if you’re depressed, chances are that you don’t lie to YOURSELF enough. That’s right, lying to yourself is very healthy! If you’re too honest with yourself, you may be damaging your mental health! Depressed people tend to be more honest to themselves about the amount of control they have over their situations. Next time you start to feel depressed, allow yourself to lie more. It’s been proven that if you smile while you’re sad, that it makes you happier. This is basically lying to your brain. You’re telling your brain that you’re actually happy, and your brain makes that a reality. Wouldn’t it make sense that telling yourself happy lies would lead to a happier person? Let’s take the example of the kitty sleeping on the side of the road from before. You know realistically that the kitty is dead, but if you can lie to yourself and say that the kitty is sleeping, chances are that somewhere in the back of your mind, you’ll think that maybe there’s a possibility that the kitty really is just sleeping in an unfortunate location.

And now it’s time for some boring facts. On average, 99% of students completely stop paying attention to presentations when facts begin emerging.That one percent is the student presenting. When you’re talking to your friend on the phone at night wishing that the two of you actually had a life instead of having to talk on the phone to each other, there’s a good chance that a significant amount of the time spent talking was filled with lies. If you spoke on the phone for one hour, a full 12 minutes would be pure lies.

Does America Still Have Heroes?

Oncolytic Viruses

Imagine being a cancer patient after having gone through an intensive treatment. Though the treatment has removed a good deal of your cancer cells, they have also taken with them a good chunk of your healthy cells as well. This leaves you with nothing more then a highly compromised immune system. Now imagine being injected by one of two nearly identical viruses, differing only by a single gene. While one virus could potentially kill you, the other just might be your best shot at surviving. New studies show that oncolytic viruses, genetically modified versions of everyday viruses, could one day do just that.

Viruses are simple sub-microscopic entities that cannot survive on their own. Many viruses are composed only of nucleic acid and a coat of protein which acts as a shield to protect it’s genetic material. To survive, a virus must first find a host cell. Once one is located, they attach themselves to the cell membrane and fool the cell into letting them in. The virus is able to travel through the cell because it is mistaken for one of many other particles which go through the cell membrane. Before long, the virus and it’s genetic material makes it way to the cell’s nucleus. There, it incorporate itself into the cell’s DNA circuit and replicates using the cells own mechanisms. The virus continues replicating until the cell bursts, or is lysed. This releases new viruses, all of them ready to infect other cells and repeat the cycle all over again.

The cell, however, is not completely defenseless. It’s got a little trooper fighting for it it’s chance of survival called the p53 gene. An incredibly important gene, p53′s main function is to regulate the cell cycle. In fact, when a cell does not have the p53 gene or it is not functioning properly, it results in cancer cells. Because they lack p53, cancer cells are constantly replicating and do not stop when they should. This causes other cell and organs to pushed around and squeezed. The reason why cancer is so deadly is because it moves and constricts vital organs from performing their job. When a virus begins to replicate, it triggers the cell’s p53 gene. With it’s ability to regulate cell cycles, p53 is able to destroy the virus before it gets any further. So if cells are able to destroy viruses, then how are we still able to get sick in the first place? This is because viruses have their own little know-how’s as well that varies from one virus to another. In the adenovirus, it is called the E1B gene and it’s special ability is to inactivate a cell’s p53 gene. Once the host cell’s p53 gene is no longer activated, the virus is free to replicate.

With these characteristics, scientists are able to genetically modify common viruses to target only cancer cells. These special little guys are what we call oncolytic viruses. They are able to do this because scientists have removed their E1B gene. A virus without this gene is as good as good as gone when the host cell’s p53 gene gets activated. This is because without without the E1B gene, viruses have nothing to stop the p53 gene and defend themselves with. So in healthy cells, oncolytic viruses would be killed by the cell’s p53 gene thereby rendering oncolytic viruses harmless to healthy cell. In cancer cells, however, it is a different story.

As stated before, cancer cells have faulty p53 genes. So if an oncolytic virus enters a cancer cell, there would be no need for an E1B gene because there would be no sufficient p53 gene in the first place. This would let the virus replicated within the cancer cell until it is lysed. Once the cancer cell bursts, new viruses enter neighboring cancer cells and the lysing cycle ripples like a drop of water in a lake. As all these viruses are spreading throughout the cancerous region of the body, healthy cells surounding the area would not be effected. This is because healthy cells have working p53 genes which could easily deal with oncolytic viruses that are lacking their E1B gene.

Even though the oncolytic viruses sound amazing and fool proof, there are still a few factors that stand in the way of widespread use. The first one is the fact that oncolytic viruses are difficult to produce. The main reason why it has taken so long for oncolytic viruses to be researched is because the technology is barely there. In fact, just a few decades ago, the term “genetic engineering” did not even exist! Not only  can oncolytic viruses be a conundrum to construct, but there is also the complication of bringing the virus to the ideal location. No matter how useful an oncolytic virus can be, it is still a virus and will be detected by the body’s immune system and destroyed.

Despite all these hurdles, however, there is still hope that all this is possible. Even though it is true that all these discoveries are fairly recent, it does not mean that we have a long wait a head of us for the next one. The very fact that genetic engineering is a fairly new field shows what we can accomplish in a small amount of time. By the time scientists discover a way to genetically modify viruses, surely it would not be too long before a way is found to also make them exclusively designated for tumors as well. Once they are there, who’s to say that their only job will be to destroy cancer cells? Perhaps we will see a day where these viruses are capable of not only lysing cancer cells, but also releasing healthy p53 genes to correct the cancer cells as well. All of this may sound overly optimistic, but the key is to remember the fact that the scientific world has never fails to amaze.