Abstract
This paper examines how the presence of antinuclear antibodies (ANA) is a helpful marker for diseases like systemic lupus erythematosus, chronic liver disease, rheumatoid arthritis, thyroid disease and many others. In particular, it focuses on the alternatives to immunofluoresence for anti-nuclear antibody testing.

From the Paper
"A scientist called Hargraves (1948) was the first to notice the anti nuclear antibodies in patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. Antinuclear antibodies (ANA) are antibodies produced by the host immune system that attack the body's own tissues and organs instead of foreign invading organisms and toxins. Their production may be a result of an underlying autoimmune disease. About 5% of the population have a positive anti nuclear antibody. This percentage is higher in older ages, reaching a 15% in people ages 70 to 80 years old."

Tags:counter, immunoblotting, immunoelectrophoresis, immunofluoresence, nuclear, radioimmunoassay

Abstract
This paper examines how the nervous system is one of the major regulatory systems in the human body and like other systems is comprised of various organs and tissues. It looks at how the most important of these tissues are the nerve tissues which are composed of neurons and support tissues. It provides a summary of the synaptic structure and function as well as a description of the uses that modern drugs can have on the synapses to treat diseases.

From the Paper
"In excitatory responses an excitatory neurotransmitter, such as Acetylcholine, is released into the synaptic cleft. To begin with this only slightly depolarises the post synaptic membrane and is called an excitatory post synaptic potential. This makes the post synaptic membrane more easily stimulated if more neurotransmitters are released then depolarisation can occur more easily along the post synaptic membrane as described above. This excitatory post synaptic potential lasts only a few seconds and usually the postsynaptic membrane only can become depolarised if several end bulbs do this simultaneously, this is known as spatial summation. Another way in which the post synaptic membrane can become depolarised is if the end bulb receives many impulses very close together therefore releasing more neurotransmitter than normal, this is known as temporal summation."

Tags:central, cleft, nervous, neuron, neurotransmitter

Abstract
This paper examines how affinity maturation is a response to an antibody that occurs in vivo and how it can be defined as the gradual increase of antibody affinity for the immunizing antigen with time. It looks at how it is associated with an enhanced secondary (anamnestic) response, somatic hypermutation, isotype switching and memory development.

From the Paper
"Somatic hypermutation leads to mutations in the rearranged V-D-J sequences of antibodies. The antibodies generated during the primary response use the germline V regions, but in secondary responses all the generated antibodies contain a higher number of V-D-J region mutations. Random changes are introduced into the heavy and light chain genes and may lead to an increase in affinity of the antibody to the antigen. These higher affinity antibodies are then selected to enter the memory cell pool. The somatic mutations occur within the germinal centre in close proximity to the FDC network. If the variants have a high affinity for the antigen they are selected to become either plasma cells or memory B cells [4]."

Tags:antigen, cell, isotype, somatic, hypermutation

Abstract
This paper examines how male factor infertility is a serious medical condition that can be induced even before the child is born. This means that during pregnancy any exposure to harmful compounds will result in alteration of the developing reproductive system, which may cause permanent damage to the fertility of the male child. It looks at how both the environment and genetics are involved and how once the cause of infertility has been established, treatment is often available that will correct the condition and restore fertility. It also discusses how recently there has been an intense interest in how the environment affects male fertility, especially compounds that disrupt the endocrinology of the reproductive tract.

Outline
Abstract
Fertility
Male Factor Infertility
Impairment of Spermatogenesis
Genetic Causes of Impaired Spermatogenesis
Non-Endocrine Causes of Impaired Spermatogenesis
Varicocele
Infection
Nutrition
Defects in Sperm Transport
Retrograde Ejaculation
Impotence
Oral Treatment
Recent Advances
Conclusion
Reference List

From the Paper
"The normal process of spermatogenesis results in the production of the spermatozoan. The process involves a series of mitotic divisions of spermatogonial stem cells, two meiotic divisions by spermatocytes, extensive morphological remodelling of spermatids during spermiogenesis and the release of free cells into the lumen of the seminiferous tubules by spermiation. The specialised structural features of the spermatozoan are a reflection of its unique functional activities. The acrosome contains enzymes essential fertilization and the flagellum contains the energy sources and machinery necessary to produce motility. The roles of these components are to ensure the delivery of the genetic material contained in the sperm nucleus to the egg, where combination of the haploid male and female pronuclei occurs, resulting in a zygote."

Tags:impotence, spermatogenesis, varicocele, sperm

Abstract
This paper examines the technique of positron emission tomography, a technique used for imaging brain activity by measuring the flow of blood containing radioactive atoms that emit positrons. It describes the uses of PET scanning as a research tool and in the diagnosis of brain injuries. It also compares PET to other similar methods such as MRI scanning, x-raying and CT scanning.

From the Paper
"In particular, PET has been used with great success in the study of which parts of the human brain are involved in language. With the assistance of positron emission tomography, studies have shown striking evidence that there are several independent regions of the brain involved in language. Among these areas that are crucial for language and speech are Wernicke's and Broca's regions. Due to the use of these non-invasive techniques (PET, MRI etc.) we now know that these regions are significantly spread out and are not located near the conventional language regions. We can see in scans from patients that different regions of the brain are used for specific tasks. Eg. a patient hearing words, reading words and seeing words uses very different parts of the brain for each task. (Delcomyn; 1998)."

Tags:ct, blood, xray, radioactive, atoms, scan

Abstract
This paper discusses how ever since the ?Thalidomide? incidence last century there has been an ever-increasing amount of resources injected into optical isomeric research and in attaining pure enantiomeric products. It shows how due to different stereochemical characteristics, different isomers will have different interactions with biological receptors in the body, giving rise to different actions. A resultant undesirable effect is therefore inherently possible upon the consumption of chiral drugs, for that reason it is imperative that the end drug mixture is as entiomerically pure as possible. It describes the 3 basic methodologies for single enantiomers: chirality pool, kinetic resolution and asymmetric synthesis and examines the basis of and the techniques of separating them.

From the Paper
"One way of the use of chirality pool molecules merely requires the maintenance of pre-existing chirality throughout a synthesis, with transformation of other parts of the molecule by formation of new chemical bonds or inter-conversion of functional groups. Otherwise, utilising chirality pool can afford a so-called "control element" for the creation of new stereogenic centres by "substrate-directable" reactions. Such reactions may involve complete transfer of chirality from one region to another intra-molecularly.[1]"

Tags:assymetric, biocatalysis, catalysts, chiral, chirality, kinetic, racemate, racemisation, recrystallisation, resolution, sythons

Abstract
This paper discusses the environment and its relationship with technological progress. The author uses figures, numbers and statistics to demonstrate the environmental paradox, the faulty thought that things are worse than they were before, when in fact they are getting better. The author also looks briefly at future advances in technology such as cloning and genetic engineering and argues for the far-reaching advantages it will provide the human race and environmental science.

From the Paper
"In this paper I set out to prove the environmental paradox. The world is getting better and better every day, we live in the greatest time the human race has ever had and people say it's going to the dogs. I would like to end this paper with a quote from P.J. O'Rourke: "Things are better now than things have been since men began keeping track of things. Things are better than they were only a few years ago. Things are better, in fact, than they were at 9:30 this morning, thanks to Tylenol and two Bloody Marys." (O'Rourke, p. 2) "

Tags:cloning, effect, engineering, environment, genetic, global, greenhouse, libertarian, malthus, paradox, rourke, statistics, terraforming, warming

Abstract
This paper explains, starting from the basics, what genetic engineering actually is, and how it is carried out. It details its uses in society and explains the risks involved and how to overcome them. Ethics and social values are included in the discussion.

Outline
Introduction
Principles of Genetic Engineering
Applications of Genetic Engineering
Hazards and Ethical and Social Implications of Genetic Engineering

From the Paper
"Restrictions have become less severe over the years, and genetic engineering is being applied more and more as public approval is constantly being sought. Nevertheless, this does not diminish the potential dangers of creating transgenic organisms. For example, consider the use of genetically modified organisms - GMO's - in the general environment, such as crop plants. Can such organisms be used safely? Suppose the pollen of these plants are transferred to wild relatives, thus injecting the gene into a different species. These plants may now act as weeds, and if the crop plants were engineered to be herbicide-resistant, then the weed will be similarly so. When a new type of oilseed rape resistant to the herbicide Basta was produced by the Belgian company 'Plant Genetic Systems' in 1994, there were concerns that rapeseed would act as a weed in hedgerows and would be impossible to control with Basta."

Tags:biotechnology, dna, gene, genome, gmo, nucleotide, plasmid, protein, virus

Abstract
This paper discusses how, since the publication of the human genome sequence in 2001, biologists have developed and applied a range of novel technologies in an attempt to extract the valuable biological information encoded within the genome sequence. In particular, it examines they way in which we have set about decoding the human genome to date and provides an insight into some of the progressive new technologies currently under development.

Outline
Objectives and Achievements of the HGP
Computational Biology and Genome Annotation
Comparative Genomics
Functional Genomics
Genetic Perturbations
The Transcriptome
The Proteome
The Interactome
Conclusion: The Rise of Systems Biology

From the Paper
"The objectives of the HGP can be considered as four overlapping goals: 1. The construction of high resolution genetic and physical maps. 2. A high quality, complete genomic sequence. 3. Identification of sequence variation within the human genome. 4. A complete list characterising each and every gene. Both working drafts have achieved almost complete sequencing of the euchromatic DNA in the human genome14. The highly repetitive nature of heterochromatic DNA renders its sequencing difficult and it is unlikely to be well represented even in the final sequence, anticipated by April 2003. To date, the public consortium (IHGSC) report that 75% of the human genome sequence is in "finished" state. That is, a continuous sequence with gaps no larger than 150kb and an expected error rate of less than 1 in 10,000 nucleotides. The public consortium's effort also resulted in a high resolution physical map of the genome, constructed to facilitate accurate assembly of sequenced fragments16. However, the genome sequence itself represents a physical map of the highest possible resolution."

Tags:bioinformatics, organisms, proteomics, transcriptome

Abstract
The following paper examines the isolation of human embryonic stem cells. The author attempts to discover what these cells are and why they are so important. This paper will also take a look at those people that recommend the use of other sources of stem cells for medical reasons.

From the Paper
"This will potentially revolutionize medicine in the next century" (Smith, 1999)1 . The use of stem cells to develop drugs, study human development and provide a limitless supply of customized cells to replace damaged or diseased tissues, without incidence of adverse host reaction has replaced cloning as the perceived future of medical technology. The "Holy Grail" concept revolves around the knowledge that stem cells have the potential develop into any of the body's two hundred and twenty different types of specialized cells. The therapeutic promise of this is that once a stem cell has been isolated, it may reproduce endlessly in undifferentiated state and then be chemically coaxed to develop into any desired adult cell. Stem cells may eventually be used to produce tissues or entire organs specifically designed for their intended recipient. Cellular repair treatments for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases as well as many forms of paralysis, previously irreversible autoimmune conditions, are the most exciting channel for this field of research. The potential uses of these unrestricted cells could even go as far as the generation of massive amounts of human cells (e.g. heart cells) which could be used to screen dozens of potential drugs and pick out the most promising few, without harm to human or animal life."

Tags:medicine, century, drugs, study, human, development, customized, genetics