The Power Team

Honestly I don't know how I feel about the "Power Team." Part of me thinks they are just crazy, beefed-up men who just want to be famous and travel the world and they came up with the "Power Team" group.  It's unique obviously, which would make people really interested in them and they are obviously entertaining, but how much of their show is really because they love God? It seems like all they do is ask for money, preach, yell at people in the audience, and show off.....I mean I could be completely wrong but who am I to judge them?  It just doesn't seem like the right manner to preach about God and to summon people to follow God. Showing that you are strong and can break things is not exactly my idea of a follower of Christ. And another thing, since when did Jesus run around and show off his power all the time....he was subtle and performed miracles, he wasn't showy and told people to gather and pay to watch him. It was interesting but I just don't think I am into the "Power Team."

A Plauge of Tics

I really enjoyed reading this piece. I thought it was very easy to read and it was very interesting to me. I have a friend who suffers from OCD but his is not as bad as the boy's is in this essay.  I think it's unbelievable how ignorant his family and teacher are to his condition. Instead of trying to help him, they make fun of him. He suffers from a serious disease and has no one there to give him support for it.  Sometimes I think I suffer from mild OCD with certain things, but then again who doesn't? We all have our own special habits or things we HAVE to do to stay in a routine, but I can't imagine living how the boy does in this story. It would be horrible. I was glad when he finally found a way to control his tics for the most part in college. GO HIM!!

5th Blogggggg

            My final research paper is on the effects of hip dysplasia in dogs.  Throughout my paper I will be answering several questions.  One of which is what exactly is hip dysplasia and how does it affect dogs.  This is my broad question and from within that question I have several more specific ones like what dog breeds is it more prevalent in and why do pure bred dogs seem to get the disease more often than a mix breed.  I plan on recovering a lot of information on the topic in order to make sure my paper is very informative.

            My thesis statement is that larger dog breeds are more prone to getting hip dysplasia then smaller dog breeds.  This makes sense to me because bigger dogs have a larger masses and more weight on their bones, therefore when they are running or jumping they are putting more pressure on the ball and socket joint in their hips as opposed to a smaller dog.  The research I do will either approve or disprove my thesis statement.

            An overview of hip dysplasia is this; basically it’s arthritis in the hips of a dog.  They can start showing signs as young as two years old.  It’s a malfunctioning of the ball and socket joint in the hip.  Basically the ball is not placed correctly in the socket which causes limping, pain, inflammation and if it’s serious enough needs to be corrected with surgery.   There are two different types of surgeries that a dog can get.  One is more effective but is also a lot pricier, the other is less expensive but doesn’t have as good of results.  You also may need to take your dog to a specific surgeon to get it done seeing as how not all vets perform the surgery.

            I need to find out in more detail what breeds it’s most common in. I also need to find some more information about why pure bred dogs are at a greater risk of carrying the disease rather than a mix.  One idea is interbreeding and if the father and mother both have the disease then those genes will be passed down to the offspring.

            Some ideas that could oppose my argument are that an equal number of large and small dogs get the disease. I haven’t found any statistics yet so it makes it hard to prove one way or another.  Another opposing argument could be that it’s at random what dogs gets the disease; that it’s bases solely on the dog’s stature and physical condition.

            The sources I have found as of now are as follows:

Foster, Dr., and Dr. Smith. "Hip Dysplasia in Dogs: Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention." Foster & Smith Inc. n. pag. Web. 1 Mar 2011. <http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2084&aid=444>.

Johnson, Ann. "Canine Hip Dysplasia." ACVS. erican College of Veterinary Surgeons, 5/15/2008. Web. 2 Mar 2011. <http://www.acvs.org/AnimalOwners/HealthConditions/SmallAnimalTopics/HipDysplasiainDogs/>.

Hayashi, Kei . "Total Hip Replacement Surgery in Dogs." Hip Replacement Surgery in Dogs. Wordpress, 5/29/2009. Web. 3 Mar 2011. <http://labradorhipdysplasiatreatment.com/hip-replacement-surgery-in-dogs/>.

Unknown. "FAQ: Total Hip Replacement." Hospital for Companion Animals. The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Web. 3 Mar 2011. <http://vet.osu.edu/vmc/faq-total-hip-replacement>.

 -Meggie

Ha Ha??

As I read this article it really made me opened my eyes to how fake the laughs behind sitcoms really are. Whenever I watch a sitcom I'm not thinking about the canned laughter, I'm just thinking about how funny they are.  I don't really understand what the big deal is behind the fake laughter? It would be like taking the music aways from a movie. Most movies have canned music; it's not live or in the moment. If you take the music away the movie is surly not as fun to watch. Well in my opinion the same goes for a sitcom. Adding the laughter just makes the moment that much funnier. I know that when I'm laughing by myself I don't think things are as funny as when I am laughing with a friend.  When you're laughing with a group of people it makes it better.

Another thing that was interesting to me was about when he spent time in Germany and talked about how German's never laugh at anything unless they actually think the situation is funny. I think that's so strange. I can't imagine not laughing in awkward situations or laughing just to fill the void of silence. I laugh all the time, and I laugh really easily. I laugh a lot when I'm nervous! I just think it shows that I am a happy person and can laugh at myself; I don't take things too seriously. I think that laughing is healthy and important and people need to be able to laugh other than when they're just laughing at a joke or at the tv.

Topic...

So....we're just learning about researching and how to utilize the library and all it's resources.  We also have to pick a topic on what to research. Although I haven't picked a topic yet I know that I want to keep it in the science field.  Preferably I would like to do research on dogs or something that has to do with dogs. 


I know a very common disease is hip dysplasia and I was thinking about researching what breeds it's most common in and what the treatment options are and such.  Other things I could research would be what age it's most common and what are some of the causes of the disease.


I'm sure the library would have lots of information on the topic and it would be a really fun and interesting research project. It would definitely keep me interested and help me gain some background to the disease which I'm sure I will have to know all about someday when I am a vet.

Response to Article

Article title: Regulation of Cell Proliferation by a Morphogen Gradient


This article is essentially showing the evidence for the model of tissue patterns.  One model to explain the relationship between patterning and growth during development suggests that growth is regulated by the slope of morphogen gradients. A morphogen is;  a diffusible chemical substance that exerts control over morphogenesis especially by forming a gradient in concentration.  The Drosophila wing served as the test subject for studies of organ growth and patterning.  The tests showed that the Decapentaplegic (DPP) morphogen controls growth in the Drosophila wing, but the slope of the DPP activity gradient did not  influence growth.  Researchers later figured out that either activation or inhibition of the DPP pathway in clones at levels different from those in surrounding cells stimulates nonautonomous cell proliferation.  Their later observations provided a direct demonstration that the slope of a morphogen gradient regulates growth during development.


Irvine, Kenneth , and Dragana Rogulja. "Regulation of Cell Proliferation by a Morphogen Gradient."Elsevier B.V. 123.3 (2005): 449-461. Web. 5 Feb 2011. <http://www.sciencedirect.com>.

Reaction to Richtel

In my opinion a lot of the problems they talked about in this article didn't really surprise me, other than the facts about people's vision improving from playing video games.
I have family members that are always on their phones emailing for work or making work related phone calls.  I also have brothers and cousins that are glued to gaming systems.  I know my aunt gets annoyed that her husband is always on his phone checking his email even when he's supposed to be on vacation.  He would never be able to go without his phone or computer for a day, but who am I to judge? I always have my cell phone on me, but that's mostly to text my boyfriend who's two hours away.
Sometimes I really do feel like life would be so much easier if all this technology never existed.  People wouldn't have to worry about who their husband or wife is texting or who they are talking to on Facebook.  Facebook is now the number one cause of fighting among relationships.  I think it's very important to have family time and just get away from the world of technology and not be so addicted to it!  It's definitely a struggle though.  If I had a dollar for every time I checked my phone and Facebook during the day, I wouldn't need student loans.
We all just need to take a step back and look at the big picture; our grandparents made it through life without cell phone, computers, and TVs, why can't we?
I think more boundaries and limitation need to be set on the amount of electronic use throughout the day. People need to start appreciating what and who is around them, not have their face buried in their Blackberry.

First Blog: ME

Hi there,
My name is Megan Kahle and I'm a sophomore at IUP.  I am a biology (pre-vet) major. I love animals and dogs are my favorite. I have one dog and I love her to pieces. I have 4 other siblings and I wouldn't change it for the world!  My family is very close.  We live in a small town called Franklin, about an hour north of Pittsburgh.  I am of course a Steelers fan!! I also love sports and the ocean! That's a little about me :)