Are our genes still evolving?

Scientific research suggest yes indeed we are. It see a change in our genes associated with taste smell,digestion, bone structure, skin color and brain function. In the article by Nicholas wade he suggests that it came from the pressure from people abandoning their hunting and gathering way of life for settlement and agriculture. I am glad that this research shows that we are indeed evolving because sometimes you wonder are we ?

How does a TCM approach to cancer differ?

TCM looks at the body, mind, and spirit.TCM believes that cancer development is due to a weakened body leading to internal disharmony and organ dysfunction. TCM believes that there are multiple reasons.TCM uses herbs , acupuncture, and massage to assist the body to regain balance and acheive homeostasis. It does not just look at these cancer cells, it looks at the cause of the problem and gets rid of it and it also suggests a lifestyle change too. I wonder if they have done tests on the difference in the reoccurence of cancer in acupuncture patients verses those who just do western medical treatment, I would love to see those results!!!

How sophisticated is our understanding of cancer?

We have come a long way in our understanding of cancer. We(through scientific research) have been able to narrow down many of the causes of cancer.We have been able to figure out what is happening to the healthy function of cells, why do they go rogue and become an abnormal cell or an altered cell(bad ). Through this understanding we are able to detect cancer cells sooner and have also been able to make medicine that is better engineered to kill the bad cells and not as many of the good ones. Although I may not choose to use only western medicine, if I had cancer, I am very grateful for it's existence ( it cured my brother).

chinese medicine gaining respect in the west!

I celebrate the day, and days to come that chinese medicine becomes more mainstream, for a bunch of reasons. From a practitioners point of view that means that there will be more people that have heard of my trade and because the word is out that there will be more people seeking my expertise.It also means that more people will be leading a healthier life and usually, healthier and happier go hand in hand. It means that there is a paradigm shift happening, going back to things that have been working for a long time and realizing the power in their simplicity....

significance of tools and language?

I think I have expressed in class, my disbelief that humans have only recently realized that animals are just as smart(in our own definition) as us! The significance of chimps using language and tools is that we are worried that eventually we won't have these complacent animals that we can observe and judge....! On a lighter note, it also shows us that they too are capable of decision making and cognitive thought. They recognize as we do that sometimes there are easier ways to do things with tools, and by language they are able to convey more complex ideas to other chimps so that they can pass the knowledge on to one another.

how do you distinguish between living and nonliving?

I am first going to use the example in the article from class. In the case of the bicycle, the pattern of organization is represented by the design sketches that are used to build the bicycle, in the mind of the designer. In the case of a living system, however, the pattern of organization is always embodied in the organisms structure, the link between pattern and structure lies in the process of continual embodiment.I interpret this as inanimate and animate objects but , as we all know there are mant things that the human eye can't see that are very alive and animate but if I can't see it then would I deem it animate? I guess we can see that in living verses non living things are always changing, developing, evolving. I love being part of the living!!!