A Historical Overview of Human Enhancement and Its Societal Impacts
Posted inHealth Social Justice World Issues

A Historical Overview of Human Enhancement and Its Societal Impacts

The Rise of Genetic Technologies  In the modern era, improvements in genetic knowledge and technology have brought novel methods of human enhancement - prenatal screening, embryo selection, and genetic engineering.  The first prenatal screening was developed in the 1950s with ultrasound, and in the 1970s, implementation of real-time gray-scale imaging allowed earlier detection. Prenatal screening technology allows the identification of birth defects and chromosomal abnormalities before birth that may…
Posted inHealth, Social Justice, World Issues
A Historical Overview of Human Enhancement and Its Societal Impacts [Part II]
Posted inHealth World Issues

A Historical Overview of Human Enhancement and Its Societal Impacts [Part II]

Plato’s Eugenics  The term ‘eugenics’ was first coined in 1883 by a British natural scientist named Francis Galton and was defined as a “science” for the betterment of society through selective breeding of individuals with desirable traits (F. Galton, 1978; Proctor, 1988, p. 29). Despite the term’s origin, the roots of eugenics stretch long before Galton’s time.  The earliest known inception of eugenics comes from Plato, a Greek philosopher,…
Posted inHealth, World Issues
A Historical Overview of Human Enhancement and Its Societal Impacts [Part I]
Posted inHealth World Issues

A Historical Overview of Human Enhancement and Its Societal Impacts [Part I]

Human enhancement methods of prenatal screening, embryo selection, and genetic engineering are currently in the limelight, but there are debates over their ethical and societal implications. This paper aims to explore past human enhancement attempts and their parallels to modern treatments to determine possible societal impacts and applications of latest treatments. To do so, this paper focuses on the earliest known inception of human enhancement advocated for by Plato…
Posted inHealth, World Issues
Blackout
Posted inCreative writing Writing

Blackout

My eyes snapped open. It was dead silent, and I could hear only my heart racing. Darkness loomed outside. A hint of moonlight peeked through my window, a hint of the light landing on my pale face. The darkness all around me was engulfing, suffocating, and I couldn't breathe.  I knew I had been through another one of my blackouts, the ones which happen at the queerest of times,…
Posted inCreative writing, Writing
Civil Disobedience
Posted inPolitics Social Justice

Civil Disobedience

“Cast your whole vote, not a strip of paper merely, but your whole influence.” Thoreau’s piece on Civil Disobedience has inspired many great activists around the world. From Gandhi to Martin Luther King Junior, they casted their whole influence on issues of inequality and, in turn, inspired other individuals to continue their work of improving the government. A recent issue that many activists have been concerned about is the…
Posted inPolitics, Social Justice
The Great Decline: A Look at Seasonal Affective Disorder and How it Impacts Students
Posted inPsychology

The Great Decline: A Look at Seasonal Affective Disorder and How it Impacts Students

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/823032900636460495/ Winter is depressing, and not just metaphorically. Darkness plagues the majority of the day, nights feel infinite, and many feel their mental health decrease during this time of year. This can be largely credited to the mental health condition known as SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). As the name suggests, SAD is defined by the American Psychiatric Association as “a mood disorder characterized by depression that occurs at the…
Posted inPsychology
Forty-two Kilometers
Posted inCreative writing Writing

Forty-two Kilometers

Forty-two kilometers.  That’s not that much.  No, it is that much.  But I can’t back up.  I walk up to the white line that marks the start of the soon-to-come run. To the left and right, 61 men, already sweaty and pumped from their warm-up run, kick and punch the air, signaling their bodies to get ready for the most important run of the century. In German, the black…
Posted inCreative writing, Writing
The Summer of Strawberry Pound Cake
Posted inCreative writing Writing

The Summer of Strawberry Pound Cake

The Summer of Strawberry Pound Cake The grass beneath you feels like fur, softly grazing your back and tickling your arm as you lay on the ground with your best friend.  You’ve been looking at her for a long time. Your eyes trace over her golden brown locks, her sun-kissed freckled face, her cherry blossom pink-tinted cheek, and finally, to her plump glossy rouge lip.  You feel adrenaline rush…
Posted inCreative writing, Writing