DNA - Human Software

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)

DNA is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions for the biological development of a cellular form of life or a virus. All known cellular life and some viruses have DNAs. DNA is a long polymer of nucleotides (a polynucleotide) that encodes the sequence of amino acid residues in proteins, using the genetic code.

Inheritance of DNA

DNA is responsible for the genetic propagation of most inherited traits. In humans, these traits range from hair color to disease susceptibility. The genetic information encoded by an organism's DNA is called its genome. During cell division, DNA is replicated, and during reproduction is transmitted to offspring.

In eukaryotic cells, such as those of plants, animals, fungi and protists, most of the DNA is located in the cell nucleus, and each DNA molecule is usually packed into a chromosome that are passed to daughter cells during cell division. By contrast, in simpler cells called prokaryotes, including the eubacteria and archaea, DNA is found directly in the cytoplasm (not separated by a nuclear envelope) and is circular. The cellular organelles known as chloroplasts and mitochondria also carry DNA. DNA is thought to have originated on earth approximately 3.5 to 4.6 billion years ago.

Mitochondrial DNA and Y Chromosome Used for Lineage Studies

In humans, the mother's mitochondrial DNA together with 23 chromosomes from each parent combine to form the genome of a zygote, the fertilized egg. As a result, with certain exceptions such as red blood cells, most human cells contain 23 pairs of chromosomes, together with mitochondrial DNA inherited from the mother. Lineage studies can be done because mitochondrial DNA only comes from the mother, and the Y chromosome only comes from the father.

Gulf War Syndrome - Washington's Dirty Little Secret

Gulf War Syndrome - Washington's Dirty Little Secret

In November of 2008, the Committee on Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses presented a 450 page report to Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Peake. The report stated that the Gulf War Syndrome (GWS), previously dismissed as a psychosomatic disorder, is a very real illness affecting between 25-50 percent of the 700,000 U.S. Veterans who participated in the 1991 Gulf War.

GSI was likely caused by repeated exposure to toxic chemicals, including overused pesticides, drugs given to the U.S. troops for protection against nerve gas, smoke from oil fires, anthrax vaccines, and exposure to depleted uranium. Additionally, a 2004 British study found that Gulf War veterans (GWV) were 40-50 percent more likely to be unable to start a pregnancy and were 2 to 3 times more likely to having children with birth defects.

Pesticides

According to the report, 62 percent of ground troops interviewed reported some form of pesticide use. Forty-four percent used pesticide sprays daily and 26 percent used pesticide lotions a median of 20 times per month. The most commonly used compound was DEET, used by half of all personal almost daily. Permethrin was used by fewer personnel but was on average, used daily.

The Pesticide Information Project of Cooperative Extension Offices of Cornell University states that "Everglades National Park employees having extensive DEET exposure were more likely to have insomnia, mood disturbances and impaired cognitive function than were lesser exposed co-workers". Additionally, the Environmental Protection Agency classified permethrin as "Likely to be Carcinogenic to Humans" by the oral route. This classification was based on two reproducible benign tumor types (lung and liver) in the mouse, equivocal evidence of carcinogenicity in Long- Evans rats, and supporting structural activity relationship information.

Permethrin also has been shown to kill 1 in 10 cats exposed to permethrin with 90 percent of them displaying symptoms of twitching and convulsions. Furthermore, a study by the Predictive Toxicology Research Group in Inda found significant functional impairment of the blood-brain barrier following pesticide exposure during development in rats, even after one exposure.

Depleted Uranium

Depleted uranium, used in tank kinetic energy penetrator and autocannon rounds on a large scale in the Gulf War, has been recognized as a neurotoxin. Uranium is a heavy metal and chemical toxicant with nephrotoxic (kidney damaging), teratogenic (birth defect causing), and carcinogenic properties and is usually associated with a variety of illnesses. In a study of U.K. troops serving in the gulf, the risk of malformation among pregnancies reported by men was 50 percent higher in GWV, compared to non-GWVs.

Depleted uranium has been shown to induce cancer development and genetic mutations, autoimmune diseases and the core functionality of T cells, which play a central role in cell-mediated immunity. (See image above for the effects of Depleted Uranium on Iraqis and GWV children).

Chemical Weapons

Many of the symptoms of GWS are similar to the symptoms of organophosphate, mustard gas, and nerve gas poisoning. GWV were exposed to a number of sources including nerve gas and pesticides. Over 125,000 U.S. troops were exposed to nerve gas and mustard gas when an Iraqi depot in Khamisiyah, Iraq was bombed in 1991.

Additionally there is speculation that residual chemical agents from the Iran-Iraq war caused environmental contamination and chronic exposure to the troops, consistent with the increased observation of birth defects amongst the Iraqis during the period of the Gulf War.

Nerve Gas Protection

Pyridostigmine bromide (PB), an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor intended to protect against nerve agents was used extensively by GWV. According to the National Academy of Sciences, excess illness in Persian Gulf War veterans (GWV) can be explained in part by exposure of GWV to organophosphate and carbamate acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEis), including pyridostigmine bromide (PB), pesticides, and nerve agents. Evidence germane to the relation of AChEis to illness in GWV was assessed. Many epidemiological studies reported a link between AChEi exposure and chronic symptoms in GWV.

It has been suggested that intake of PB by GWV may induce a condition termed bromism, a condition induced from the excessive intake of bromide, with neurological, psychiatric, dermatological, and possibly endocrine effects. Psychiatric symptoms may include, in the earlier stages, disinhibition, self-neglect, fatigue, sluggishness, impairment of memory and concentration, irritability or emotional instability, and depression.

Symptoms of more advanced disease may include confusion but occasionally schizophrenic-like behavior or hallucinations in clear consciousness. Behavior can become violent, especially at night or under the influence of drugs or alcohol and there may be severe auditory and visual hallucinations.

Anthrax Vaccines

During Operation Desert Storm, 41 percent of U.S. combat soldiers were vaccinated against anthrax. This was a source of serious side effects relating to GWS, as well as local skin reactions, some lasting for weeks or months. Remarkably, while approved by the FDA, it never went through any large scale clinical trials, unlike almost all other vaccines in the United States. Even after the war, troops that had never been deployed overseas developed GWS symptoms after receiving the vaccine. The Pentagon additionally failed to report 20,000 cases where soldiers were hospitalized after receiving the vaccine.

A U.S. Federal Judge ruled that there was good cause to believe it was harmful, and ordered the Pentagon to stop administering it in October of 2004. The ban was lifted in February 2008 after the FDA re-examined and approved the drug again. The vaccine is the only substance suspected in GWS to which forced exposure has been banned.

Homeless and Incarcerated Veterans

According to the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, as of 2001, 23 percent of the homeless populations in America are veterans, accounting for between 529,000 and 840,000 of the total homeless population. 33 percent of these were stationed in a war zone, 89 percent received a dishonorable discharge and 75 percent experience alcohol, drug or mental health problems. For comparison, as of July 2008, there were 147,000 troops deployed in Iraq.

A 2000 report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics indicated another 225,000 veterans were held in Nation's prisons or jails in 1998. 60 percent of incarcerated veterans had served in the Army. 35 percent of veterans in state prison were convicted of a violent crime, compared to 20 percent of non-veterans and surprisingly, the average sentence of veterans was 50 months longer than the average of non-veterans.

Summary

Gulf War Syndrome profiles typically include some combination of chronic headaches, cognitive difficulties, widespread pain, chronic fatigue syndrome, chronic diarrhea, skin rashes, respiratory problems, increased birth defects, sleep disorders, memory problems, blurred vision and a variety of other symptoms. To date there is no identified treatment for Gulf War Syndrome that affects a significant number of veterans 17 years after the war.

The Veteran's Administration has been slow to even acknowledge the problem, less alone, provide treatment for these veterans. Many have lost their families, are unable to hold a job or have even been incarcerated as an indirect result of illnesses caused during their tour in the Gulf War. It's time that the U.S. Government to take responsibility for exposing unsuspecting soldiers to a toxic soup that will kill Gulf War veterans for years to come.

Human Digestion

Digestion

In humans, digestion begins in the oral cavity where food is chewed (mastication) with the teeth. The process stimulates exocrine glands in the mouth to release digestive enzymes such as salivary amylase, which aid in the breakdown of carbohydrates. Chewing (mechanical catabolism) also causes the release of saliva, which helps condense food into a bolus that can be easily passed through the oesophagus. The oesophagus is about 20 centimeters long. Saliva also begins the process of chemical catabolism, hydrolysis. Once food is chewed properly, the food is swallowed. The bolus is pushed down by the movement called peristalsis, which is an involuntary wave-like contraction of smooth muscle tissue, characteristic of the digestive system. The mechanism for swallowing is co-ordinated by the swallowing centre in the medulla oblongata and pons. The reflex is initiated by touch receptors in the pharynx as a bolus of food is pushed to the back of the mouth by the tongue. The uvula is a small flap that hangs from the roof of the mouth. During swallowing it and the soft palate retract upward and to the rear to close the nasopharynx, which prevents the food from entering the nasal passages by triggering closure of the soft palate. When swallowed, the food enters the pharynx, which makes special adaptations to prevent choking or aspiration when food is swallowed. The epiglottis is a cartilage structure that closes temporarily during swallowing, preventing food and liquids from entering the trachea.

The food enters the stomach upon passage through the cardiac sphincter, also known as the oesophageal sphincter. In the stomach, food is further broken apart through a process of heuristic churning and is thoroughly mixed with a digestive fluid, composed chiefly of hydrochloric acid, and other digestive enzymes to further denature proteins. The parietal cells of the stomach also secrete a compound, intrinsic factor which is essential in the absorption of vitamin B-12. As the acidic level changes in the small intestines, more enzymes are activated to split apart the molecular structure of the various nutrients so they may be absorbed into the circulatory or lymphatic systems. Absorption is when smaller molecules, such as glucose or alcohol, pass through the membrane of the stomach directly into the blood stream.

After being processed in the stomach, food is passed to the small intestine via the pyloric sphincter. This is where most of the digestive process occurs as chyme enters the first 10 inches (25 cm) of the small intestine, the duodenum. Here it is further mixed with 3 different liquids: bile (which helps aid in fat digestion, otherwise known as emulsification), pancreatic juice and enzymes, (made by the pancreas), and intestinal enzymes of the alkaline mucosal membranes. The enzymes include: maltase, lactase and sucrase, to process sugars. Trypsin and chymotrypsin are other enzymes added in the small intestine. (Bile also contains pigments that are by-products of red blood cell destruction in the liver; these bile pigments are eliminated from the body with the feces.) Most nutrient absorption takes place in the small intestine. The nutrients pass through the small intestine's wall, which contains small, finger-like structures called villi. The blood, which has absorbed nutrients, is carried away from the small intestine via the hepatic portal vein and goes to the liver for filtering, removal of toxins, and nutrient processing. The primary activity here is regulation of blood glucose levels through a process of temporary storage of excess glucose that is converted in the liver to glycogen in direct response to the hormone insulin. Between meals, when blood glucose levels begin to drop, the glycogen is converted back to glucose in response to the hormone glucagon.

After going through the small intestine, the food then goes to the large intestine. The large intestine has 3 parts: the cecum (or pouch that forms the T-junction with the small intestine), the colon, and the rectum. In the large intestine, water is reabsorbed, and the foods that cannot go through the villi, such as dietary fibre, can be stored in large intestine. Fibre helps to keep the food moving through the G.I. tract. The food that cannot be broken down is called feces. Feces are stored in the rectum until they are expelled through the anus.