Sickle cell anemia and Sickle cell malaria
Introduction:
The malaria disease is transmitted by a virus that mosquitoes carry. The disease has killed many people over the world because is almost undetectable and its symptoms can be confused with headache, colds and vomiting. There are scientists that have worked in this virus and they’re discovering a cure for it or a way to prevent from people to get infected. Sickle cell anemia is a dangerous disease and is when the body makes C shaped blood cells. These bloods aren’t as flexible as the normal blood cells and because of this they cannot pass through the veins and explode. If the cells explode the human with the disease dies or have blood infection.
Topic of sickle cell anemia and sickle cell malaria:
The study objectives of biology about this virus are the development of it inside the human body and how it destroys our blood cells and tissues. The consequences are brain and body damage, but it can also be worse than that. The scientist principally wants to find about the disease and what parts of the organism are being affected and how this can be detected so we can save people from dying from this disease. (http://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/p/patarroyo.htm Manuel Elkin Patarroyo)
The objectives of biology in the study of sickle cell disease are the prevention of this kind of disease in humans. Also to know what are the percentage of people with the disease and if there is a way to prevent someone to have this kind of anemia.
The sciences that are used in sickle cell malaria are chemistry, computer science, ethics, geography and mathematics. Chemistry is used for knowing the components of the virus and for finding a cure to it. Also for discovering the mutations the viruses had overwhelmed. Computer science for all the technological advances in medicine, samples of blood infected with malaria and observations about the behavior of the malaria inside the body. Ethics, because in some places there is approbation of a law that denies people who carries the disease to get married, that way no one else would get infected. This has generated problems. Geography is used for knowing the area of population that can be infected, the regions where the malaria is most common and the where the mosquitoes reproduces better. Mathematics, for knowing the number of people infected with the virus and the percentage of people who can be saved. For the sickle cell anemia disease scientist have to use Chemistry, for knowing the composition of this different kind of cells, Computer Science, for them to have advantages in detecting the disease and preventing others to get infected, Geography for knowing the area and the climate where this disease develops easier. (http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Sca/SCA_WhatIs.html Sickle Cell Anemia)
The branches of biology that studies the effects of the malaria are: genetics, because we want to know if there’s any heritance of the virus; cytology, for knowing the cell behavior against the malaria; evolution, if the virus evolved in the organism or if the person had changes in its body; paleontology, to know the origin of this disease and if it have had any change during time. Virology is used for knowing what kind of virus is the malaria and classifies it depending on its composition and evolution. The same levels are for the sickle cell anemia, the genetics, because we know that most diseases are inherited, cytology, if there’s any virus that can result for the blood disease, paleontology, if it as evolved or modified its behavior during time.
The levels of organization the malaria affects are: molecular, because the virus gets combined with DNA and it changes the composition of the molecules; cellular, because the malaria destroys the cells in order to keep “alive”; and from there it has a domino effect over tissues, organs, system and organisms, and the consequences can be mutation or damages to the body. The malaria also affects the biological community because it affects human reproduction an example are pregnant woman with malaria makes them reduce weight and infant mortality (http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/154/5/459.full Malaria during pregnancy) The sickle cell anemia levels are: molecular, cellular, tissue and organism, because the components of the cells can male mutant blood cells and this type of cell destroys our tissues and organisms because it doesn’t let the oxygen flow correctly inside our body.
The macromolecules involved in this case are lipids and nucleic acids. Lipids, because the malaria affects the phospholipids of cellular membranes and those are the main component of all living things. The bad functioning of lipids prevents humans to store energy and have anemia. Malaria affects DNA and RNA and these nucleic acids are important because if malaria affects them then it can overcome a mutation in humans. (http://www.ehow.com/about_5090930_importance-nucleic-acids.html Importance of nucleic acids) The macromolecules for the sickle cell anemia are: the nucleic acids, because one single change in the transmission of RNA can change the structure of DNA and cause mutant blood cells.
Haemoglobin is important for the blood cells because attach to this iron containing protein and helps them to transport oxygen through the body and without them we would have breathing diseases. The malaria affects this protein and makes abnormal haemoglobin proteins. (http://www.iscid.org/encyclopedia/Haemoglobin haemoglobin) In adult humans, the most common haemoglobin is a tetramer called haemoglobin A (there are 4) .The heme group consists of an iron atom held in a heterocyclic ring, known as a porphyrin. This iron atom is the site of oxygen binding. The iron atom binds equally to all four nitrogen in the center of the ring, which lie in one plane. (http://www.3dchem.com/moremolecules.asp?ID=213&othername=Haemoglobin What is haemoglobin?) But the malaria cannot survive in an organism whose body has sickle cell disease, because this blood cells aren’t like normal blood cells, their composition is not flexible and in that way malaria virus cannot destroy the cell and the sickle cell malaria dies. So the sickle cell anemia is like a “insurance” for us to know we can’t get infected of malaria, but this doesn’t mean we are immune, because we can die from our blood disease.
Because the malaria has extended he preventing methods that are being used are questionable. Some of the methods doesn’t harm people and don’t have ethical implications over it, for example the use of insecticides and clothes that prevent mosquitoes from biting people. But other methods aren’t ethical at all. One example is for any woman who wants to have a baby but they want it to be artificial insemination, so they are sure their baby is healthy. For this method the doctors have to create several embryos and check them to find if any of those is infected or healthy; if one is healthy they put it inside the woman and the woman gets a healthy baby. This is questionable because that way we are throwing away an embryo and is like a “sin” and it is not well seen in some societies. And for the prevention of sickle cell anemia, all I can say is that there’s no cure, no method for you to make sure you don’t carry the disease. If you want to have a baby and you’re infected you must consider genetic counseling. (http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/Sca/SCA_Prevention.html Prevention of sickle cell anemia)
Conclusion:
There are many things around the world that can kill us without us to know. One example is the malaria, we can think it is only a headache or a cold, but it can actually be the malaria disease. And if we have anemia we can think it is only fatigue, but actually it can be that our body is breaking the blood cells. It is horrible to know there’s no cure for the anemia disease, but it is a relief that for the malaria there’s a cure for it, there’s this guy called Manuel Elkin Patarroyo who actually created a cure for the malaria, but only works around 50% and 60% in kids and adults. (http://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/p/patarroyo.htm biography of Patarroyo)
There are many things around the world that can kill us without us to know. One example is the malaria, we can think it is only a headache or a cold, but it can actually be the malaria disease. And if we have anemia we can think it is only fatigue, but actually it can be that our body is breaking the blood cells. It is horrible to know there’s no cure for the anemia disease, but it is a relief that for the malaria there’s a cure for it, there’s this guy called Manuel Elkin Patarroyo who actually created a cure for the malaria, but only works around 50% and 60% in kids and adults. (http://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/p/patarroyo.htm biography of Patarroyo)
The medicine he created was donated to a organization, so everyone can have the cure. It is really thoughtful what this student of viruses did, and it is remarkable because he was inspired in Louis Pasteur, the one who created many cures for viruses. The inspiration he had to make a cure for people who needed it. I hope more people like him create cures for everything, because it’s horrible to have pain in our body and it is more horrible to know that maybe you won’t survive.
References:
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