Biology Week Three: Genetic Evolution

 "“99.4% of the most critical DNA sites are identical in human and chimp genes"

It doesn't surprise me that we are connected that closely with another animal through the lens of our DNA. What was interesting to me about this article was how important our use of language is. If we reclassify an animal then we're changing its rights? Even though nothing has actually changed about the animal. It's just a change in how we're choosing to label and classify this animal. Language has always tripped me out but when it is used as a means of control and exclusion/inclusion it becomes so skewed and can almost seem like complete nonsense. Some one else in class also brought up the point that it's pretty disgusting how once we label something to be "more human" then we all of a sudden will treat them better? Yikes. Also, we aren't even treating most humans right let alone monkeys and other animals who aren't in our specific scientific classification. Yikes to it all, really. I also find it odd that somehow we can now validate our connection to another animal because of how we are related through our DNA. What about all the other ways we are related and connected? Like through the planet, and through energy, and experience, and life?

Learning about prokaryotes and Eukaryotes is fun. I'm very interested in bacteria and viruses too. In this day we are definitely facing the "side effects" of the use of antibiotics and who knows where it's going to go from here.

• The last laugh may be yours. You have spent three and a half billion years practicing chemical warfare. Humans thought that antibiotics would end infectious diseases, but the overuse of drugs has resulted in the selection of drug resistant bacteria. They didn't realize that this was only the first battle, and now the war is ready to begin.
• Humans think this is their era. A more truthful statement would be that we all live in the age of bacteria.

I can relate to this because of my Auto Immune Disease. Many people believe the use of antibiotics  is a big contributor to the rise in Auto Immune Disease. I couldn't agree more. If only Westerner's could understand the concept of Yin and Yang and opposites, maybe they would have thought to study the good bacteria as well, instead of just focusing on getting rid of the bad. Whoops!

On the topic of today's discussions, is anyone as scared as I am for the backlash we may face from meat made from genetically engineered DNA and printers? I don't think I'm ready for this world people!