Forensics Quiz

Leading Differential Diagnosis:

The bullet entered the left lateral side, went along the frontal plane, and then hit the inside part of his 8th rib, fracturing it. The bullet then fragmented and part of it ricocheted off the rib and came out 5 cm above the belly button. This is the most probable case because it is the least complicated path, and the shortest distance, for the bullet to go. It would have most likely gone through his heart, causing internal bleeding and death, since the heart is what controls the movement of your blood, so has a lot of blood coming through it. Below is a model of what I believe this path would look like.

Differential Diagnosis Model

Plausible Alternatives:

The bullet could have hit the second rib as it entered, and split into two pieces. One piece could of the bullet could have exited out 5cm above the belly button, while the other piece may have hit the eighth rib. This can be ruled out if the second rib was not damaged upon examination. This would mean that the bullet never hit this second rib.

The bullet could have hit the front of the vertebral body, fragmenting the bullet. With these fragments, the two injures would have been made. This could be ruled out by checking all of the vertebral bodies to see if they are normal or injured.

The bullet went down through his lateral left at a 45-degree angle and hit his right pelvic bone, and then bounced back up and exited 5cm above the belly button. After being shot, the victim fell down and fractured his rib, rolling onto his back before dying. If the pelvic bone is uninjured, then this can be ruled out.

Stem Cell Question!

If you were going to die, would you be okay with a clone being killed in order for you to receive the organ that will save your life?


If you were the president or ruler of your country, would you have clones made to fight in your country's military?


If scientists successfully become able to use Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells to cure diseases, rather than using Embryotic Stem Cells, will most people be okay with playing God?

Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

     Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) are stem cells that can be reprogrammed from adult cells, often skin cells. In most cases, skin cells are taken from an adult and reprogrammed using specific genes, four known ones being Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc. These genes, which are active only in embryos, are able to reprogram adult cells back into embyotic cells. At this state, the cell can become any of the 220 human body cells.

     Most of the testing done has been on mice. Scientist have been able to correct mutations, if they know where the mutation is located. They have been able to kill some diseases in mice that mimic human diseases.

     Scientist have been able to deliver these reprogramming genes through adenviruses, which only last for a short amount of time, but leave the genes permanently. Scientist have also been successful in tricking adult cells to reprogram using chemicals that mimic the reprogramming cells. Soon, scientist hope to make drugs that can reprogram instead of using viruses.

     At this point in time, there are too many risks, such growing a teratoma in the brain (a teratoma is a type of tumor formed from embryonic cells when something is injected under the skin), for scientist to experiment on humans. And there are many people who believe that playing the role of God is wrong, and who will never permit human testing.

The Island

     In our last class, we watched the first half of The Island. The movie deals with the morals of creating clones, and using the clones' organs as transplant organs for patients.

     In the movie, the clones are made for one purpose, and that is to supply organs for high paying patients. Once the desired organ is removed from the clone, they are killed (if not already killed from the process of removing the organ).

     The clones are forced to eat foods that better their health, as well as exercises often, in order to make sure that the organs are in best health. Additionally, they are stuck inside all day, and are told lies that keep them from questioning anything. They are also put to work, though it is unclear what there job is (they insert stuff into pipes or something like that).

     Is it fair to make clones for our own sake? That has been a question for many people. Very soon, people will have to make the choice whether it is ethical to make clones for our own profit, or to make an army of something like that.

Thyroid Cancer

For my research/review paper, I am focusing on thyroid cancer. Thyroid cancer is located in the thyroid gland at the front of your neck.

The Thyroid gland is often fully removed through surgery, removing the cancer along with it. This common procedure is called a thyroidectomy.

After the thyroid gland is removed through surgery, many patients are given radioactive iodine. Since the thyroid gland absorbs iodine, it absorbs the radioactive iodine. The radioactive iodine then kills any remaining thyroid cells, and hopefully all of the remaining cancer. Radioactive iodine can be used by itself, without a prior surgery, however it is not as common.

In our first week back we learned about cancer, and how telomeres allow cancer cells to continue through the cell cycle without a Hayflick limit. We learned that a normal growing cell is called a    proto-oncogene, and cell that divides uncontrollably is called an oncogene, and is cancerous. We also learned about tumor suppressor genes, and how they are affected by mutation.