Biology 103 Web Paper 1

Before beginning research on this paper, I was relatively confident that there was a specific gene in our bodies that directly influenced our sexual preference. After all, most people know with much certainty from an early age their sexuality, so there must be some sort of inherent trait that determines it. I turned to a field previously unknown to me, that of Behavioral Genetics, to answer my question of whether or not our sexuality is predetermined. I soon learned that the field of Behavioral Genetics is incredibly controversial, from the way studies are conducted to the ethical and moral issues that inevitably surround almost every topic,

Paige Safyer

Biology 103

Why Do We Dream?

The relationship between pharmaceutical companies and physicians, nurses and/or other medical personnel has become an alarming concern in the medical field.  Doctors become involved with these companies by creating financial ties with an individual company.

Exercising Too Much: A Disease?

Try it. See if you can make yourself guffaw, chuckle, or just giggle. You realize after a few seconds that you can not make yourself genuinely laugh to your hearts content. It is hard to force yourself to burst into tears, be at a short of breathe, and experience sharp pains in your ribs while having a smile spread from ear to ear. It is rather oxymoronic to see a moment of relief that results from hysterical boasts of laughter be accompanied with so much physical strenuous activity. It puts into question the appropriateness of laughter let alone its evolutionary advantage.

The quote used for the title of this paper is from the movie Anchorman when a man is trying to warn his friend about the dangers of women.  While the accuracy of this statement is questionable, it makes one wonder if a woman’s monthly period does actually pose a significant threat to the individual and/or society.

Have you ever stood at the top of a very tall object and shuddered at the thought of looking down? Have you ever noticed that when you give a dog a treat, it tends to repeat the same action for which you praised it? Both of these situations use conditioning, a crux of the behavioral psychology. Two branches of Behaviorism, Classical and Radical Behavioral psychology, use conditioning to explain the actions of humans and animals without ever having to delve into the mind.

I became a vegetarian about two years ago, and have since gone through periods of veganism as well as fish-eating. My choice was mostly motivated by ecological reasons, but I became curious about the health effects of vegetarianism after I noticed changes in how I felt after a change in diet. I found I lost weight as a vegetarian, and had more energy; I also had significantly increased energy in the first month of veganism, though this effect wore off eventually. I wanted to gather more observations to discover if my assumption that vegetarianism was healthier was, in fact, true, and true for people other than myself.