Every time I listen to these lyrics from Police's song, "Every Breath You Take," I think about everything society and my life revolves around.
It just so happened that while I encountered this unit's bio blog topic- technologies enhancing our understanding of internal body systems, I was listening to "Every Breath You Take," which urged me to realize,
Every breath you take and every move you make-- new technology surrounds you.
By definition, technology is the use of scientific knowledge to solve practical problems, especially in industry and commerce. However in my perspective, technology is so much more than that; technology can enhance lives, technology can change lives, and most of all, technology can save lives. Heck, we would not be able to blog about biology without the technology of the computer and the world wide web!
Without technology, many scientific theories would not have been discovered. Thanks to technology, the world has a rather insightful understanding of human internal body systems.
In my opinion, one of the most beneficial inventions to the human race that Canada has contributed is insulin, a treatment for diabetes.
Insulin is a hormone produced in the pancreas that regulates the amount of sugar in the blood by stimulating cells, especially liver and muscle cells, to absorb and metabolize glucose. Insulin also stimulates the conversion of blood glucose into glycogen and fat, which are the body's chief sources of stored carbohydrates. It was discovered by Canadians- Frederick Banting and Charles Best.
Individuals with diabetes have pancreas' that either do not produce enough insulin or cannot effectively use the insulin it produces. As a result to this, glucose builds up in the bloodstream, potentially leading to serious health problems such as blindness, heart disease, kidney problems, amputation, nerve damage and erectile dysfunction.
There are two types of diabetes:
type 1: People with type 1 diabetes do not naturally produce insulin, resulting in their need to take insulin daily.
type 2: People with type 2 diabetes need to carefully watch their glucose levels and diets, sometimes requiring extra doses of insulin.
In this case, the discovery of insulin using modern technologies has definitely contributed to the understanding of the human blood stream.
Back in the day, when heart transplants failed, patients grieved and cried, knowing there was no other solution. However, the EVAD has changed that.
Another example of how technology contributes to our understanding of internal body systems is the EVAD (electrohydraulic ventricular device). This artificial heart was produced by Canada's Dr. Tofy Mussivand. The EVAD is a giant leap for humankind and its knowledge of the body. By using this externally controlled artifical heart as a replacement for part or a complete heart ventricle, it allows freedom of movement to patients, as they would no longer be attached to a machine. The EVAD is revolutionary because if this device efficiently works and can move fluids as well as the natural biological system, it can save thousands of lives per year!
In society, a reoccurring medical issue concerning the respiratory system is asthma. Asthma is a chronic condition of inflammation in the air passages of the lungs of a person. Anyone can get asthma: at any age and time. It is the number one reason for absents in schools. Fortunately, thanks to technology, asthma inhalers were invented. There are two different types of inhalers: relievers and controllers.
Relievers are used to provide quick alleviation to asthma, but do not treat inflammation; controllers on the other hand, do. In easiest terms, relievers are for a quick remedy to asthma whereas controllers are for long-term treatment.
These asthma inhalers have definitely contributed to the understanding of the respiratory system, they provide knowledge of how the body works internally, what external factors can help our bodies, or damage them.
Therefore, I think technology has benefited the world scientifically. Technology is extremely important to us for medical purposes. We rely on the results from MRI scans, X-Rays, ultrasounds, and many more machines to determine the healthiness of our bodies. After this, we hope for technologies that can cure us; inhalers, artificial hearts, chemotherapy, radiation, etc.
Ergo, the constant urge to depend on technology to decifer our internal body system justifies that various technologies such as the asthma inhaler and EVAD are crucial to understanding and assisting our bodies.
Hopefully in the future, scientists and technology will be able to solve every medical mystery humans have been pondering about and yearning to learn more about.
Sources:
http://www.diabetes.ca/about-diabetes/living/insulin/should-know/
http://www.discoveryofinsulin.com/Home.htm
http://www.asthma.ca/adults/about/whatIsAsthma.php
http://www.aetna.com/cpb/medical/data/600_699/0654.html
http://www.asthma.ca/adults/treatment/relievers.php
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1751113
