Doing the Most Good

This week instead of a blog post, I want you to do 5 random acts of kindness.  Help a friend, pay someone a compliment, help your parents with the dishes or anything where you are doing the most good.  Be the best version of yourself this last week of the school year for 2015.  This past weekend, my family rang bells for Salvation Army.  While my boys are convinced that we got the gold coin, I know that we helped someone.  I want you to do the same.

Used Dental Floss

In class this week, we learned about different types of microscopes.  Your blog assignment this week is easy.  All you have to do is find an SEM or TEM image that you think is cool.  Below is an awesome SEM image of used dental floss and a human tooth.

Seems to me that the tooth below could use a little more dental floss.....

In your post, tell what the image is and then paste the URL.  Try not to have any repeats.

I found a bunch of cool images at these sites.  Let me know if you can find any others.

http://www.lifebuzz.com/microscope/

http://io9.com/photos-of-the-amazing-and-gruesome-world-under-a-micros-1291328130

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/foodanddrinkpicturegalleries/9862970/Food-under-the-microscope-scanning-electron-micrographs-of-foodstuffs.html

http://www.smosh.com/smosh-pit/photos/27-crazy-microscopic-pictures

Dear Stress....Let's Break Up

And the winner is......Stress and the Digestive System.

Stress can cause lots of problems throughout your body and this week we will look at how stress affects digestion.  I found video clips, articles and more for you to peruse this week in order to write your response about stress and digestion.

http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/stress-and-the-sensitive-gut

http://www.everydayhealth.com/hs/better-digestion/how-stress-affects-digestion/

http://www.calmclinic.com/anxiety/symptoms/digestive-problems

http://consumer.healthday.com/encyclopedia/digestive-health-14/digestion-health-news-200/stress-and-the-digestive-system-645906.html

The American Psychological Association completed a study in 2013 that found the majority of teens are experiencing extreme stress.  The primary cause of this stress is school.

http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/stress-teens.aspx

Read through one or more of the articles above and watch the brief video clip.  What is stress?  What causes you stress?  What effects does stress have on the digestive system?  Why?  What are some of the most common chronic disorders of the digestive system?  Explain at least one disorder.  Are there any other systems that are affected by stress?  Finally, what can you do to alleviate some of your stress?  What works for you?  For me a good run always puts me in a better frame of mind.

Enzymes... and Pac Man

I spent a lot of time this morning searching for the perfect blog post relating to what we are learning in class.  After reading numerous articles about a million and one things other than enzymes, I decided to have you watch this great video clip by the Amoeba Sisters.

This video goes over many of the key concepts that I discussed in class on Thursday.  Hopefully, it will also clarify any questions that you may have on Enzymes.

Did you like the video clip?  Are you a Pac Man fanatic?  Do today's high school kids even know Pac Man?  When you are finished watching the video, in addition to answering the above questions in your response I want you to find one video clip, magazine article, or website that could be used for next week's blog post.  I would like it to be about either enzymes or digestion, but the rest is up to you.  After you answer these quick questions, paste the address of the site or video clip that you choose.  If I pick your entry, you will receive extra credit on next week's blog post.

Bacon, Sausage, and Red Meat...Oh My

After a night of indulging on Halloween candy, I couldn't help but wonder if all that processed sugar was reeking havoc on my body.  Are my liver and intestines suffering because I ate one too many Twix bars?  Turns out that all that sugar isn't nearly as bad for me as processed meat and red meat.  Last week, bacon eaters world-wide went crazy when the World Heath Organization declared bacon to be carcinogenic to humans.  Bacon!  

The backlash has been unreal.  Bacon lovers across the world are appalled that bacon, sausage and other processed meats are being lumped together with cigarettes and alcohol.

If you don't want to watch the video, here are some articles that you could read instead:

http://www.eater.com/2015/10/30/9643748/bacon-cancer-world-health-organization-clarifies

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/world-health-organisation-insists-it-is-not-telling-people-to-stop-eating-bacon-after-cancer-report-a6714576.html

http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34615621

As we wrap up our unit on organic compounds, I thought it appropriate that we take another look at saturated fats and proteins.  In a scholarly article, I would like to respond to this tidbit of news.  What do you think?  Will this change the way you look at bacon?  Is the World Health Organization really telling people to stop eating bacon?  In the past few years, cooking shows and foodie magazines have published more and more recipes highlighting the flavor of bacon.  Will this new information change the  Food Network?  What will happen to pig and cow farmers?  Will there be an affect on industries such as Johnsonville Brats?  In class we discussed trans-fats and triglycerides, how does that relate to this news?  What is your overall opinion?

I tend to agree with Christian Schmidt, the agriculture minister in Germany.  Schmidt said, "no one should be afraid if they eat a bratwurst every now and then."  He compared sausages to sunshine; both are fine in moderation. 

Caffeine Buzz

In Honors Biology this week, we will begin organic chemistry.  I like to start my morning with a cup of coffee and while enjoying my coffee this morning, I started thinking about the organic structure of caffeine.

Apparently, I am not the only organism that works a little harder after a cup of coffee.  Read the following article.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/10/151015131835.htm

What do you think?  Do you think the bees would react to other addictive chemicals?  Is this why Starbucks has a hold on the coffee drinking public?  When I was in high school, no one drank coffee before school, but now I see students every morning walk into school carrying a Starbucks.  Are bees just like teenagers?  Do teenagers really need the caffeine?  In a scholarly paragraph, summarize the article, provide your own opinion, and comment on the caffeine habit of today's teens.

And the Award Goes To ....

Last week, the 2015 winners of the Nobel Prizes were announced.  The 2015 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine was awarded to three different scientists for their work with parasites.  How cool is that!

From the Nobel Prize website:
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2015 was divided, one half jointly to William C. Campbell and Satoshi Ōmura "for their discoveries concerning a novel therapy against infections caused by roundworm parasites" and the other half to Youyou Tu "for her discoveries concerning a novel therapy against Malaria".

I love the fact that we just studied parasites and now the Nobel Prize for medicine went to three different scientists that have devoted their lives to studying these organisms.  I did learn a lot of interesting information about the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine....

        106 Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine have been awarded from 1901-2015.
          12 women have won the prize so far.
          32 years was the age of the youngest Medicine Laureate ever, Frederick G. Banting, 
               who was awarded the 1923 Medicine Prize for the discovery of insulin.
          87 years was the age of the oldest Medicine Laureate ever, Peyton Rous, when he was
               awarded the Medicine Prize in 1966 for his discovery of tumor-inducing viruses.
       

This week I want you to go on the official website of the Nobel Prize and pick one former or current Nobel Prize winner to write about.  Ideally, I would love for there to be no repeats.  Use the website to pick a winner and then give a brief synopsis of that person's life and contribution to society.  The winner does not have to be a Medicine or Physiology Prize winner as there are also awards for Physics, Peace, Chemistry, Literature, and Economic Sciences.  In a scholarly paragraph, (at the very least five sentences long with proper spelling, capitalization and punctuation) present a biography and a reason why they won the award.

http://www.nobelprize.org/

GMO....Giant Modified Ordeal?

In a week when we are studying population ecology and different growth models, I thought it was totally appropriate that GMOs hit the news-stands across the country.  (Not to mention the fact that our big debate last week included GMOs, over-population and the energy crisis.)

This week in Time magazine:

Over Half of E.U. Countries Are Opting Out of GMOs

This week in Fortune magazine:
The GMO controversy: Time to move on?

From the Kokomo, Indiana Herald newspaper:

Myths behind genetically modified foods

In a scholarly response, I want you to summarize what you read in one of these articles.  What I would like even better.....would be for you to find me another legitimate article and post that article on the blog.  Copy the URL and put it at the beginning of your blog response.  Then write your paragraph.  What did you read?  What do you think?  Will GMOs help solve the problem of world hunger?  Should companies be required to label their products that contain GMOs?  Are GMOs any worse for humans that the pesticides and chemicals that are already being used on different agriculture products?  Would you feed your kids GMOs or would you try to avoid them?

Is Time Running Out?

Is time really running out for many of the creatures on Earth?  Is human existence really threatened because we are in the sixth mass extinction?  

As part of our unit on Ecology, I thought we would focus on endangered species this week.  Both the greater sage grouse and the lesser prairie chicken have gotten a lot of recent news coverage on whether or not they would be added to the Endangered Species List.  This got me thinking about endangered species in general.  

When I started researching endangered species, I got sidetracked by an article in the Huffington Post about "11 Animals We May Allow To Go Extinct Because They're Not Cute and Fuzzy."  

Total contrast to the eleven not so cute animals, I also came across the Photo Ark. Joel Sartore is a former National Geographic photographer.  He now travels to zoos across the country photographing endangered species for his "photo ark" or portfolio of beautiful photographs.  The goal of the Photo Ark is to document biodiversity, educate people about what is happening and get them to care before it is too late.  

Check out the Photo Ark:

http://www.joelsartore.com/galleries/the-photo-ark/ 

Your assignment this week is to watch the following Ted Talk.  

What did you think?  Would you want to be a National Geographic photographer?  Do you think the Photo Ark project will work?   First, just for this week, I want you each to change your profile picture to an endangered species.  Will you pick a cute and cuddly panda bear or the not so cute California Condor?  DO THIS FIRST!  If you don't do it before you enter your blog response, the images won't show up.  See me if you need help with this.

In a scholarly response, answer the questions above.  In addition to the questions above, I also want you to describe what biodiversity means to you.  What can you do to protect biodiversity?  What can you do to increase awareness of the impending sixth mass extinction?  I can't wait to see what cool images you pick for your profile pictures.  Start off your blog post telling us what animal you picked and why.  No repeats please!  In honor of Crystal Lake Central, I picked the Sumatran Tiger, Panthera tigris sumatrae.   Below is a list of endangered species:

https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/directory?direction=desc&sort=extinction_status

The Bear is on the Loose

Last week in the news, President Barack Obama was a popular subject in many newscasts featuring his visit to Alaska.  While I was entertained by his "tangle with Bear Grylls," it was the overall picture that most relates to biology and especially ecology.  Watch the quick video clip below.

On his visit to Alaska, President hiked to a quickly melting glacier (the white glacier is in the background and is shrinking daily) :

The purpose of the  visit to Alaska was to set the stage for his platform for climate change.  Below is the link to the Obama Action Plan for Climate Change:

Climate Change and President Obama's Action Plan:https://www.whitehouse.gov/climate-change

The Arctic region is one of the areas that is directly feeling the impact of global warming.  Global greenhouse gas emissions exceed 400 ppm and the world races toward a 2 degree Celsius warm-up.  For this week's blog assignment, I want you to read President Obama's speech below:

President Obama's Remarks about the GLACIER Conference in Anchorage, Alaska:
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/09/01/remarks-president-glacier-conference-anchorage-ak

Once you have read the speech, post a scholarly response to the article.  What did you think?  How is human activity disrupting the climate?  Why is the Arctic the leading edge of climate change?  Why does it matter if the permafrost layer is melting?  How does this relate to the drought and forest fires in California and the West?  How does this affect you?  What can you do to make a difference?  I expect you to write this paragraph in the same fashion that you would write a paragraph for English class.  Capital letters, proper punctuation, correct spelling and format are expected.  You classmates will also write a response to this article.  Can you include a link to other sites about global environmental issues?  What other issues are you worried about?  Endangered species?  Over-population?  Deforestation?  In addition to your own response, I would like you to comment on at least one classmates response to the article.  All of these initial responses will be posted to my blog for the world to see, so do your best.

Building a dinosaur from a chicken?

For the final blog post of the year, I thought it would be interesting to explore the idea of building a dinosaur.  Last week The Washington Post ran an article about turning bird beaks back into dinosaur bones.  How cool is that!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/05/13/turning-back-evolution-scientists-turn-bird-beaks-into-dinosaur-bones/

Attached to the article is an awesome TED talk.  For this week I want you to watch the TED talk below:

What do you think?  Write a paragraph (at least 5 sentences) about what you think after watching this video.  Here are some questions to get you started, but I really want you to craft a thoughtful response about your gut reaction to the video.  When you were little did you dream of being a paleontologist and having a pet dinosaur?  (I have read my sons countless books about little boys with pet dinosaurs.  Heck, isn't Clifford, the big red dog, similar to a giant dinosaur?)  Do you like the explanation of Jurassic Park?  Have you read the book Jurassic Park or seen the movie?  Is it possible?  In class we discussed evidence of evolution, what did you think of the fossil evidence?  Did you like how they were able to extract dinosaur cells from the fossils?  Would you want to be part of the scientific research expedition?  My favorite part is when Jack Horner talks about the gene modification and shows the embryological evidence.  This video is a great way to reinforce the evidence of evolution lab we did last week.  What would we do with a Chicken-o-saurus?    

On the "boat" again

I am so excited to start talking about Evolution this week.  One of the first things that we will discuss will be Charles Darwin and the HMS Beagle.

Below I am going to attach a link to the homepage of The HMS Beagle Project.  Check out this awesome website.  Peruse through the project and the voyages.

http://www.hmsbeagleproject.org/

Next check out this awesome Google Street View tour of the Galapagos Islands.  I can only imagine what Charles Darwin thought when he first saw these islands off the coast of South America.

https://www.google.com/maps/views/streetview/galapagos-islands?gl=us

You have a couple of options for this week:

A.  Write about the HMS Beagle Project.  Around-the-world sailing would be a unique experience with the new HMS Beagle.  Would you want to volunteer to be one of the scientists aboard the new HMS Beagle?  Why?  What would you want to study:  atmospheric science, biodiversity, climate change, ecology, geology, ocean science, plant science, taxonomy, or DNA barcoding?  Why?  How would you convince the board that you should be the scientist to go?

B.  Write about the Google Street View.  Check out the link in the upper right hand corner where it says "About This Place."  What were the endemic species that the tour showed you that are found no where else in the world?  What did you think?  What makes them different from sea lions, birds, turtles and organisms found on North America?  Did you like the 360 degree tour?  Why?  Watch the video clip:  Join a Modern Day Mapping Expedition.  What did you think?

Hubble's Greatest Hits

On Friday, April 24th, the Hubble Telescope turned 25 years old.  For the past 25 years, the telescope has been taking amazing images of outer space that truly pique the curiosity.  Click on the following link and look at the 50 images selected by National Geographic as the best images ever created by the Hubble Telescope.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/03/150316-50-great-images-from-the-hubble-space-telescope/

Star Power 

Hubble’s Wide Field Camera 3 looks through the Horsehead Nebula in a uniquely detailed infrared image. A classic target of astronomy, the nebula normally appears dark against a bright background, but Hubble penetrates the shroud of interstellar dust and gas.

While I love all the pictures of Earth and other planets, the Horsehead Nebula picture is definitely my favorite.  When looking at this image, I can truly imagine stars and other galaxies coming into existence.  Plus I love how it looks like the Nebula is waving at the Hubble Telescope.

Look at all of the images and pick your favorite.  Write a brief comment about why you chose the image that you did.  There are tons of other images out there, so if you find another Hubble Telescope image that you like better, please include the URL of where you found it.  You do not need to comment on anyone else's post, but you may comment on the National Geographic website if you would like to.

Look who turns 45

Earth Day has its roots in the 1970's--at the height of hippies and flower-child culture, modern day environmentalism had its birth.

Thousands of people jam a quadrangle at Independence Mall in Philadelphia during Earth Day activities in 1970.

This Tuesday, April 22, Earth Day celebrates its 45th birthday.  As part of the Earth Day festivities, there was a giant Global Citizen celebration yesterday in Washington D.C.  Artists including Fallout Boy, Usher, Mary J. Blidge, and help raise public awareness about environmentalism.  Check out the video below.

I am going to give you some options in your blog assignment for this week.  Pick the one that interests you the most.

A.  Write about the the history of Earth Day.  How did it get started?  Why?  Who was the president?  There are many available sources, so at the end of your post paste a copy of the URL where you found your information.  Here are two available sources:

http://www.earthday.org/earth-day-history-movement

http://www2.epa.gov/earthday

B.  Write about how Earth Day has changed.  A lot can change in 45 years including public opinion.  How is Earth Day today different than Earth Day 1970?  What progress has been made?  What changes have been made in the areas of land, water, air and species?  Again, please paste a copy of the URL where you found your research at the end of your post.  Here is one available source:

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/environment/45-years-earth-day-how-environmentalism-has-evolved-n343886

C.  Finally, what can you do?  You are just a high school kid.  Can you make a difference?  How can you get involved in the Earth Day movement?  Is it possible for one student or even one school to make a difference in our global environment?  Here are a couple of places where you can look.  Please paste the URL where you find your ideas at the end of your post.

http://www2.epa.gov/earthday/earth-day-events

http://www.visitmchenrycounty.com/events_details.cfm?eventer=1407

How to Clone a Mammoth

This week National Geographic magazine published a book review for How to Clone a Mammoth. In the book, the author, Beth Shapiro, explains how science "might" be able to recreate  "lost worlds from our distant past."  She addresses the common question...  "Will there ever be a real Jurasic Park?"

http://phenomena.nationalgeographic.com/2015/04/10/book-in-brief-how-to-clone-a-mammoth/

You do not need to read the entire article and you definitely don't need to read the book.  Look in the book review; I just want you to define de-extinction.  Then I want you to think of a species that you would bring back from extinction.  Try and pick an extinct species that has not been picked by one of your classmates.  What species would you bring back from extinction?  Why?  Where would you think would be the best place for this species to live in the current day?  What niche would it occupy in that ecosystem?  Do you think it would endanger other species living in that area?

Killing Cancer

Even though we finished mitosis, meiosis and cancer last Friday, I still thought it was worthwhile for you to watch these clips of the 60 Minutes episode.  Start watching the epsiode at about 13 minutes for the "Killing Cancer" part.

If you do not have 30 minutes this week to watch the video, you may read the following article from Forbes magazine instead:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidkroll/2015/03/30/60-minutes-covers-dukes-polio-virus-clinical-trial-against-glioblastoma/ 

What do you think?  Write a scholarly response about either the 30 minutes of this video or the article.  In your paragraph, you need to tell me three things that you liked and three things that you didn't like.  Finally, what do you think is the future of using recombinant viruses to treat cancer?

Never Say Die: Billionaires, Science and Immortality

How appropriate that this week's cover story for Newsweek magazine is about exactly what we are talking about in class:  cell aging, stem cells and cancer.  Is it just a coincidence?  Often my love for biology is compounded when I realize how often I encounter biology in my every day life.  Read the article below:

http://www.newsweek.com/2015/03/13/silicon-valley-trying-make-humans-immortal-and-finding-some-success-311402.html

I know this article is long, but stick with it.  Write a scholarly response.  What do you think?  If you were a billionaire, how long would you want to live?  100?  200?  400?  Why?  Would you have the same quality of life?  How long would you want to work?  How does our society and media currently treat old people?  What do you think of this Ponce de Leon style fountain of youth?  Who is Clive McCay?  What did he do in 1956?  Does this relate to stem cells?  What type of stem cells are they working with totipotent, pluripotent, multipotent?  Who is Amy Wagers?  What is her work with GDF11?  Who is Ronald De Pinho?  What is his work with telomeres?  How is telomerase related to cancer?  If scientists are able to increase our life expectancy, what will humans do when their organs begin to fail?  If scientists are able to insure immortality, what will happen to the amount of cancer in the future?  What will the affect on the economy?  Can our planet support the population growth og this extended Type 3 survivorship curve?  Is immortality worth the price?

The Controversial Dress

Is it gold and white or blue and black?

Read the article below:

http://www.wired.com/2015/02/science-one-agrees-color-dress/

What do you think?  Is the dress blue and black or white and gold?  Do you think that there are other images out there that look different based on the interpretation of wavelenghts of light?  Are you the night owl that sees the dress as blue and black or the early riser like me who sees the dress as white and gold?  

Man of Steel

Yesterday afternoon, Dominic was watching "Man of Steel," while I was pondering the importance of mutations.

Last week in our crazy short week of school, we discussed different types of mutations including both gene mutations and chromosome mutations.  What if Superman is just the result of some really cool mutations...x-ray vision, super human strength, and the ability to fly?  Isn't that what the X-Men comic series is all about?  How realistic is the theory that humans could have real life X-Men super powers?

Read the article below and watch the slideshow:

http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow/story/323873/9-humans-with-real-life-x-men-mutant-super-powers

In a scholarly paragraph, write a response to the above article.  What do you think?  Are there really people around us with gene-based super abilities?  Explain the statement, "Mutations are the means by which nature adds new variants into the genetic pool."  What does that mean?  Can you give examples?  Are all mutations bad?  Why or why not?  Can you think of any other super powers that were not included in this article?  What super ability would you want?  Why?  Do you think these mutations would be gene mutations or chromosome mutations?  Why?

Sled Dogs...More than Meets the Eye

My ten year old son is on a campaign right now to convince my husband and I that we should get a dog for his birthday in March.  I know that there are a plethora of articles out there to convince me of all the benefits of kids having pets.  One of the dogs that Dominic really wants us to get is a Siberian Husky.  While I was reading about the Siberian Husky, I found this cool short video about sled dogs.

Watch the video.  What do you think?  Did you know that breeders use Irish Setters and Greyhounds to make the Husky even faster?  If you were going to breed a dog to be the best sled dog over, what type of dogs would you consider?  What if you were going to create the best dog for a family...what type of dogs would make great pets?  As we are starting our unit of DNA, ponder artificial selection--humans picking the traits that we like the best for dogs, cats, crops, fruit and more.  Are humans meant to tamper with nature?  Is making the best dog ever like "playing God?"  If we start creating the best dog ever...where will scientists stop?

Please write a scholarly response about the video and the questions I proposed above by Friday, February 13th.  What do you think?  Also be sure to comment on at least one of your peers' original responses.

Mind The Gap

Initially, this week we were going to write about Groundhog Day.  However, with the winter storm going on right now outside of my window, I am actually happy that winter has finally shown her face.  Enough of the one or two inches of snow, I am totally pleased to get a full-fledged blizzard on Super Bowl Sunday.  So rather than pondering the truth about Groundhog Day (I did attach the article to the image on the right just in case you are curious), we are going to try and wrap our head around the gap between what scientists and regular folks like you and me believe.

Recent outbreaks of measles have been tied to children who haven't been vaccinated. Many people still believe that childhood vaccinations are dangerous, despite scientific evidence to the contrary. 

From:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/01/150129-public-opinion-aaas-health-education-science/

Last week, National Geographic published the article above about differences in opinion between scientists and the "regular Joe."  For this week you will first read the article above.  Then, take a look at the graphic below:

The article states that both scientists and U.S. adults agree about the space station, but other than that the gap is enormous.  If scientists say that childhood vaccinations are safe and should be required, why don't people believe them?  Are you in favor of vaccinations?  Do you know people that do not vaccinate their kids?  If more children were vaccinated, would California be experiences an outbreak of the measles?  If scientists have evidence to prove that climate change is the result of human activity, then why can't we accept the responsibility to fix the problem we created?  Finally, as you are sitting down to enjoy your Super Bowl snacks, why do most people avoid genetically modified foods?  What is causing the disconnect?  Why are U.S. adults so hesitant to believe scientists?  What do you think?  What about the other issues?

After reading the article, you will write a scholarly response to the questions that I posed above.  If you feel strongly about a specific topic or issue in the article, then feel free to focus on that issue.  I expect a quality paragraph and evidence to support your claims.  Additionally, you need to respond to at least one of your peers.

Watch out Guinea Worm...Here comes Jimmy Carter

     Do you remember last semester watching the parasite video, "Parasites:  Eating us Alive?"  In the video, there is a clip about the guinea worm...the one that forms a small blister near the ankle.  I put some images and links to the right to refresh your memory.  The Guinea worm is on the verge of extinction and scientists are very excited about the disappearance.  Only twice before in history has a disease been eliminated (with smallpox in 1980 and the cattle disease rinderpest in 2011).  Below is an article from the World Health Festival detailing the near extinction.

http://www.worldsciencefestival.com/2015/01/guinea-worm/

   One of our former presidents, Jimmy Carter, has been leading the crusade against the Guinea worm with his non-profit the Carter Center since 1986.  Back in 1986, it was estimated that 3.5 million people in Asia and Africa suffered from a parasitic infection of the guinea worm.  The Carter Center's motto is "wage peace, fight disease, build hope."  Clearly with the Guinea worm almost eradicated, the Center is definitely successful.  

http://www.npr.org/blogs/goatsandsoda/2015/01/13/376966122/watch-out-guinea-worm-here-comes-jimmy-carter

https://www.cartercenter.org/news/multimedia/HealthPrograms/guinea_worm_countdown.html

The first of the two links above is part of an interview Jimmy Carter did with NPR.  The second link is a direct link to the Carter Center.  Read the interview and watch the video about the Guinea worm.  In a scholarly response, write a paragraph about the elimination of the Guinea worm.  What do you think?  How did Jimmy Carter help eliminate this horrible parasite?  Finally, if you were a person with tremendous influence and an unlimited supply of funds, what would be your cause?  What would you do to make your mark upon the world?  How would you help make the world a better place?  Why?  If you can't think of a cause that you would like to support, can you give me an example of another famous person and their philanthropy.  Answer all of the above questions in a paragraph with at least five sentences.  Proper spelling and punctuation are expected.  Also, please comment on at least one other classmates post.