Using Microorganisms To Produce Commercial Substances Young People Essay

Using Microorganisms To Produce Commercial Substances Young People Essay Bacteria are a large group of single-celled microscopic prokaryote organisms that inhabit virtually all environments including the air, soil, water, organic matter, radioactive waste, the earthà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s crust, and the bodies of multicellular organisms. Bacteria vary in their cell structure and mode of metabolism. They are categorized as autotrophs, heterotrophs, lithotrophs, organotrophs, chemotrophs or phototrophs, and exist in various cell shapes such as coccus, bacillus, spirochete, and vibrio forms. They can be divided into two main groups, gram-positive or gram-negative, based on the structure of their cell wall and their reaction to the gram stain. Ecologically, these microorganisms are capable of free-living, mutualistic, parasitic or pathogenic existence. Bacteria are so numerous and diverse, that new species of bacteria are continually being discovered in the environment, and within the human body, as well as that of other organisms. All the species of bacteria known represent only a tiny fraction of the diverse bacterial species present in nature. Although some bacteria cause food poisoning and infectious diseases in multicellular plants and animals, the vast majority is harmless and many are beneficial to natural processes and also to the proper functioning of higher organisms. Bacteria are used in various industrial processes, especially the food industry. Numerous manufactured food products are modified biochemically by bacterial growth in the process of fermentation. Fermented foods produced commercially by bacteria include dairy products such as cheese and yoghurt, vegetable products such as sauerkraut and pickles, various forms of cured meats and sausages, vinegar and soy products. Bacteria are also used in the manufacturing of alcoholic beverages like wine made from grapes and other fruits, beer and liquor made from grains, and tequila made from cacti. The benefits of bacterial fermentation of food products include enhanced preservation, increased digestibility, higher nutrient content and improved flavor. The ability of bacteria to degrade a variety of organic compounds is remarkable and has been used in waste processing and bioremediation. Bacteria are capable of digesting the hydrocarbons present in petroleum and are thus used in cleaning up oil spills. They can also be altered to produce certain enzymes that metabolize industrial waste components that are toxic to other life forms. Bacteria can also be used in the place of pesticides in specific biological pest control. As a result of this specificity, bacterial pesticides are regarded as environmentally friendly, since they have little or no effect on humans, wildlife, pollinators, and most other beneficial insects. The ability of bacteria to breakdown organic compounds to methane gas is widely employed in treatment of sewage. In the chemical industry, the manufacture of ethanol, acetone, organic acid, enzymes, and perfumes rely on the use of bacteria. More importantly, bacteria are used in the production of pure chemicals for use as pharmaceuticals or agrochemicals. The discovery of antibiotic drugs made from bacteria, such as cephalosporin, streptomyces, erythromycin and bacitracin have greatly improved the quality of human life in the twentieth century. Steroids and vaccines used in disease prevention are also produced with the use of bacteria. Because of their ability to grow rapidly and the relative ease with which they can be manipulated, bacteria are the pillars for the fields of molecular biology, genetics and biochemistry. Creating mutations in bacterial DNA and examining the resulting phenotypes, can enable scientists to determine the function of genes, enzymes and metabolic pathways in bacteria, and then apply this knowledge to more complex organisms. This understanding of bacterial metabolism and genetics allows for the use of biotechnology to genetically engineer bacteria for the production of therapeutic proteins such as insulin, interferons, growth factors, or antibodies useful to humans. Another main role of bacteria is the recycling of nutrients in the environment such as carbon, nitrogen, sulfur and other chemical elements used by living things. Saprophytic species cause decay and decomposition of the nitrogenous remains of dead bodies of plants and animals, converting it to ammonia, while chemosynthetic autotrophs like nitrosomonas and nitrobacter, covert the ammonium compounds in the soil into nitrate salts which can be taken up and used by plants. Bacterial populations especially that of genus Clostridium can be used to separate fibers of jute, hemp, and flax, in a process known as fiber retting. These separated fibers are used to make ropes and sacks. Leather, a widely used product is manufactured by the decomposing action of bacteria on the fats present on the skin of animals. The human body is home to a wide range of bacterial species, where they constitute normal flora. The beneficial effects of these bacteria which colonize humans are abundant and include: out-competition of harmful microorganisms, synthesis of vitamin B12, B complex and K, immune system enhancement, regulation of digestive health, absorption of minerals like magnesium, formation of new calls and the regeneration of the gastrointestinal tract. Bacteria that reside in the gut of herbivores secrete cellulase, which is useful in the digestion of the cellulose contents of plant cell walls, the main source of nutrients for these animals. Aquatic organisms also benefit from bacteria that cut down growth of algae and reduce noxious odors, making aquatic environments more conducive to living. It is an undisputed fact that bacteria can and will survive and thrive in the absence of multicellular organisms. Conversely, without the presence of beneficial bacteria, multicellular organisms will be unable to function properly, numerous industrial processes necessary for survival will shut down, and even natural processes like nutrient recycling will cease to occur. The importance of bacteria cannot be over emphasized, and the earth as we know it will definitely take a downward route to degeneration, if bacteria were to cease to exist.

Female Innocence and Violence in Literature

Female Innocence and Violence in Literature ‘For maximum literary effect, sensationalism and violence have to be juxtaposed with female innocence and vulnerability’. Discuss with reference to the ‘Tale of Two Cities’ by Charles Dickens and ‘The Woman in White’ by Wilkie Collins. The title quote is probably too fixed. Generally, there can be no such prescriptive methods for writing literature, however, there is certainly evidence to show that when contradicting qualities or concepts are presented in close proximity, the intensity of the situation is heightened. Milton used this technique in Paradise Lost – assembling a clear-cut universe comprised entirely of polar opposites and without ambivalence or moral middle ground. Hence in Milton, every physical or mental property is in effect generated and defined by the absence of its opposite counterpart. So darkness is the complete absence of light, and evil is the complete absence of good etc. Dickens’ and Collins’ use of juxtaposition in their novels is more reticent than Milton though with a similar intent and evident immediately in the opening passage of a ‘Tale of Two Cities’: â€Å"It was the best of times it was the worst of times†¦ in short, the period was so far lik e the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.† The quote is also an admission on behalf the nature of the novel itself and it is with this ‘superlative degree of comparison’ that we will be made to receive much of the events that unfold, and discover in the process that no such fixed model can properly express human nature which is too often ambiguous or prone to change. Both authors were aware that their novels were to be published as serialisations and so there was a very real need to maintain the reader’s interest between chapters. It is perhaps with this concern in mind that the authors penned their mild heroes into lurid depictions of violence and human brutality since the jarring of good and evil makes for shocking subject matter and invariably what is shocking is also powerful. With Dickens’ novel as with Collins’ the real dramatic tension is created by placing feminine champions of goodness and temperance within a masculine context of immorality and violence. As well as the perceived distinction between innocence and guilt, frailty and brutality, patience and impulsion, there is also a subtle contrast between an inner world and an outer one. A world of the soul, which is implicit and inherently good, and a world of the physical or the body which is explicit and outwardly evil. In both novels, the language separates in a s imilar way – outwardly graphic and sensational, yet with a subtle and often more powerful subtext. The texts of both novels are founded in conflict and perpetuate a sense of tension so it serves us well to do close readings of a short passage as much as an overview of the whole. We shall take first this passage from Wilkie Collins’ ‘The Woman in White’: â€Å"The boat-house was large enough to hold us all, but Sir Percival remained outside trimming the last new stick with his pocket-axe. We three women found plenty of room on the large seat. Laura took her work and Madame Fosco began her cigarettes. I, as usual had nothing to do. My hands always were and always will be as awkard as a man’s. The Count good humouredly took a stool many sizes too small for him, and balanced himself on it with his back against the side of the shed, which creaked and groaned under his weight. He put the pagoda cage on his lap, and let out the mice to crawl over him as usual. They are pretty innocent-looking little creatures, but the sight of them creeping about a man’s body is for some reason not pleasant to me. It excites a strange responsive creeping in my own nerves and suggests hideous ideas of men dying in prison with the crawling creatures of the dungeon preying on them undisturbed.† Marian’s narration begins as ‘matter of fact’ and becomes imagined and complex. From the start of the passage to the end her attention is drawn from objects and characters far away from her, closer in to those surrounding her, then to her own self and identity, and finally the introspective and private thoughts of her own mind. The first sentence raises the idea of a separate world of violence lying outside Marian’s own. She highlights Sir Percival’s decision to remain ‘outside’ despite the boat-house being ‘large enough to hold us all’ so she could be implying an obstinacy in his actions or perhaps more likely, she may be perplexed by his behaviour. The very action of trimming a stick with a pocket axe carries various connotations with violence and masculine sexuality. It is of course an arbitrary occupation of his time and serves as a meaningless and almost sinister method of disconnection between himself and the others an d hence a source of confusion. Marian’s next comment ‘We three women’, at once it unites the women together as a concept or a quality of femininity and further separates them from the singular identity of Sir Percival. Marian’s language is deeply characterised by ideas of containment. The ladies sit inside and they are easily accommodated: ‘we three women found plenty of room on the large seat’. This statement contrasts directly with her comment about the Count a little later, who ‘took a stool many sizes too small for him, and balanced himself on it with his back against the side of the shed, which creaked and groaned under his weight’ – a sentence which trails on for longer, more involved and awkward. The Count and Sir Percival, by their cumbersome inflexibility, rebel against and test the physical world. Their presence is more palpable and harder to contain unlike the women who are compliant, slight and ensconced by the physical world. This whole image is a dilution of the revolutionary world as emasculated, savage and violent – the container and oppressor of feminine goodness. As we have seen the direction of Marian’s thought is inward but her language and the use of symbolism give an added suggestion of moving from an open, free space, to a confined, interior space. Initially Marian uses words like ‘outside’ and phrases such as ‘plenty of room’ but her train of thought finishes in reflection on ‘Pagoda Cages’, on ‘prison’ and ‘the dungeon’. Herein lies the horror for Marian. Her language is the language of oppression and confinement: ‘My hands always were and always will be as awkward as a mans.’ Her use of the phrase ‘always were and always will be’ excludes all sense of hope and the awkwardness of the repetition is emblematic of her bitterness and resent of the awkwardness of her situation. Her use of the word awkward itself is interesting, used as much no doubt as the implied opposite of delicate or relaxed and the whole image of a woman being burdened wit h the tools of man’s violence towards the world is a powerful one. The shift in Marian’s observation of mice running freely over the Count’s person, to an imagined picture of rats crawling over a morbid prisoner is a much more tangible instance of frailty and innocence played against sensational horror. The real power of the text here lies in the compression of a quaint image into a one which repulses. But further it suggests there is a macabre bent in Marian or an inclination of thought towards something deeper and darker than her reality. Can it be that she relates with both images – the ‘pretty-innocent looking creatures (my italics)’, how she and women seem to be, or should aspire to become, and ‘men dying in prison with the crawling creatures of the dungeon preying on them undisturbed’, how she and other really feel? We will turn now to the following passage from the last chapter of Dickens’ ‘A Tale of Two Cities’: ‘The second tumbril empties and moves on: the third comes up. Crash! – And the knitting-women, never faltering or pausing in their work, count two. The supposed Evremonde descends, and the seamstress is lifted out next after him. He has not relinquished her patient hand in getting out, but still holds it as he promised. He gently places her with her back to the crashing engine that constantly whirs up and falls, and she looks into his face and thanks him. â€Å"But for you dear stranger, I should not be so composed, for I am naturally a poor little thing, faint of heart; nor should I have been able to raise my thoughts to Him who was put to death, that we might have hope and comfort here to-day. I think you were sent to me by Heaven†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ The two stand in the fast-thinning throng of victims, but they speak as if they were alone. Eye to eye, voice to voice, hand to hand, heart to heart, these two children of the Universal Mother, else so wide apart and differing, have come together on the dark highway, to repair home together, and to rest in her bosom.’ Dickens’ tale is related in the third person and there is consequently less room for personal introspection, the like we saw in Marian’s narration (although Dicken’s does dispense with this convention to allow a voice to Carton’s final thoughts in the last lines). However, Dickens’ presents a more sensational description of the world outside his characters. The opening of the passage here imparts a sense of horror by the alarming regularity and routine of the public execution. The relentless killing punctuated consistently by the knitting women as they count towards the heroes’ death. Throughout this passage, Dickens offsets the outside world of motion and with the interior capsule of calm between Carton and the tragic seamstress. The language of impending doom – ‘empties and moves on’, ‘never faltering or pausing’, ‘the crashing engine that constantly whirs up and falls’, and the ‘fast-thin ning throng of victims’, is juxtaposed with language of stillness, timelessness and peace – ‘not relinquished’ ‘her patient hand’, ‘still holds’, ‘so composed’ ‘stand alone’. Evident in this passage is a contradiction between the real world of horror and the machinery of violence, and the seamstress’ admission of her own vulnerability – ‘I am naturally a poor little thing, faint of heart’. But where in previous parts of the novel this opposition was played out with the effect of crushing feminine innocence and creating suspense and horror as a consequence, at this point the woman finds strength in her company. In fact the arrangement of her statement reinforces this idea. ‘But for you dear stranger’, and ‘my thoughts to Him’ surround her admission ‘I am naturally a poor little thing’ – she takes comfort between these objects. They su rround her and protect her from the brutality of the outside world. In this closing chapter of the novel, when finally the fragility of female innocence collides with the horror and mechanics of the revolution, Dickens actually draws a crucial separation between the two concepts. United in love, the protagonists fall away from the physical world – the guillotine a machine which by designs cuts people in two: ‘The two stand in the fast thinning throng of victims, but they speak as if they were alone’. In this final point of the novel – the characters break free from their context. In fact, Dickens uses different paragraphs to describe the human moments and the fall of the tumbril blade as though the outside influences have no control over the characters. ‘Eye to eye, voice to voice, hand to hand, heart to heart,’ where the novel has been an exploration of pairs of opposites, the best of times, and the worst of times, it champions as it denouement pairs of equals and connection rather than argument. The passage u nites two concepts into one, so ‘The two stand’ become in transformation ‘they speak’. Though they are ‘two children’, they are born of one ‘Universal Mother’, and though ‘so wide apart’ they have ‘come together’. What is important here, is that Dickens has chosen to create a different literary effect at the end of his novel from that outlined in the title, by a confrontation of equals rather than opposites. It may show that the collision of brutality and compassion work to create shock and suspense during reading but it is with one motivation that a reader continues through these moments and that is to reach a fitting harmony.

The Loss of Childhoos in Heaneys Poems Essay -- Seamus Heaney Poetry

The Loss of Childhoos in Heaney's Poems Seamus Heaney's poems explore the loss of childhood and the cruel awakening into the world of adulthood. Discuss. Seamus Heaney has been described as 'the best Irish poet since Yeats'. He was born on April 13th 1939 and was the eldest of nine children to Margret and Patrick Heaney, at the family farm in Mossbawn. He studied English in Queen's University in Belfast, also in Saint Joseph's College in Belfast, to become a teacher. After many years of writing "Death of a Naturalist" was published in 1966. It contains poems symbolic of death of childhood, specifically Heaney's childhood as a curious young "naturalist", eager to learn about nature. Heaney's poems reveal his thoughts of his childhood and his family. His poems are filled with the images of dying, but are also firmly rooted in childhood. His poems of transition explore the journey from childhood into the adult world. "Blackberry Picking" is a reflection of adulthood and childhood. Heaney tries to tell us that we should enjoy childhood because adulthood is disappointing. He gives the message to have low expectations, therefore when we grow up we will not be let down by the adult world. The poem is written from an adult perspective, although it has many childlike phrases in it. It is about Heaney's summer ventures with his friends during which they would collect blackberries in "milk-cans, pea-tins, jam-pots". It is an elegy, mourning the spiritual death of childhood. The poem is also an extended metaphor. The beginning is about childhood, seeing the world as a child. However there are associations made with adulthood throughout the first stanza eg: "like thickened wine." This implies that adulthood... ...ive side to adultery, monotonous, boring, defensive, greedy and engulfing. Heaney drags out all of the aspects we loathe most about being an adult. Then he places them in an intimidating setting, through a child's perspective and allows us to interpret the experience for ourselves. Heaney presents a generally pessimistic, almost fatalistic view of adult life. His poems illustrate dangers and isolation vivid in adult life, in contrast to the dependence we rely on in childhood. They explain to us the dramatic change from innocence and purity as infants to corruption and voracity in adulthood. The poems are used to convey young Heaney's insecurities and uncertainties, coupled with a faint progression through the conclusion of each of the poems: something has been learned or achieved. What more can one hope for from these significant childhood incidences?

Parents Pay For Crimes :: essays research papers

Where Will I End Up? Where will I end up? That was the question that ran through my head as a high school student athlete at least a hundred times a day. I knew and was told that I had the natural talent and the work ethic to get to the college level, to play football. It all started my freshmen year, my first year organized football at my high school Grosse Pointe North. Where I was just messing around one day before practice kicking the football around. The kicking coach had taken notice and told me that I had the natural talent and leg strength to become a solid and well-developed place kicker. I had then earned the starting job by my first ever career football game, and have made a great career out of it so far, and hope to keep it going. I never thought that I would become a kicker I thought that was the pretty boy position on the football team, little did I know that was my ticket to a college football career. I had an average freshmen season, but what do you expect from a freshmen kicker? Most teams at the freshmen level don’t even have a guy that can kick at all. I thought that I was the â€Å"man.† By the time that my sophomore football season rolled around I was a much-improved kicker, I worked out mostly everyday all summer long with my cousin who was a pro recruit at the time, he was the one who really taught me what you really needed to know about kicking. All summer we worked on my technique and accuracy. The first week of my sophomore football season the coaches took immediate notice to my improvement, I was then offered the opportunity to try out for the varsity by the head coach. I was very excited but also nervous at the same time, this was like a dream come true. My high school has a very rich tradition for football, and for a sophomore to play at the varsity level is rare. So the following week I worked out with the varsity and made the team. I was pumped I was looked at differently by everyone some in a good way but also a lot in a bad way, the bad way was that a lot of my friends were jealous of the opportunity that I had and this brought me down a little.

Foucault - death of the author :: essays research papers

M. Foucault, "What is an Author?† Michel Foucault (1926 – 1984) dealt with many aspects of social philosophy during his career, but it is his philosophy surrounding the role and dominance of the author in modern literature that this essay aims to deal with. From the 19th century onwards, Foucault notices that through social and political frameworks, the presence of an author vastly dominates the content and categorisation of any publication of that author. He also throws into question the idea of when an author becomes an author and what writings that he produces should become known as his work. The example he gives refers to items such as letters of correspondence or even simple lists that although might have been constructed by the same author of a canonical text, are not recognised as works of literature. What makes works of literature stand out is the content. Indeed, if one can recognise some basic principles of an authors works that may be used to relate previously anonymously published work, does that n ot disprove the existence of an original author. Foucault argues that when these common principles are identified (he himself recognises four in this essay) another could simply produce identically styled work according to these, thus rendering the author obsolete. When considering Marx or Freud who both claim in their work that an individual is only a component of the unconsciousness or political agenda, how can an author as an individual even exist? He recognises the author as a fleeting figure, only known through the â€Å"singularity of his absence and his link to death† (p.1624) and thereby questions further the role of the individual. Firstly, one must consider the rise of the author and how the idea of the figure’s importance came to be. Foucault considers Greek mythology when debating this claming that once it was the hero in such plays that was granted his immortality and the author remained largely anonymous. In the middle ages, this assumption changed as names of those who were involved in scientific discoveries were used to verify their truthfulness. Foucault states that in arguments, statements were in the order of â€Å"Hippocrates says†¦ or Pliny tell us that†¦..† (p.1629). This changed in the seventeenth and eighteenth century during the boom of scientific discoveries as that which was held true in scientific spheres was simply part of a greater truth. There was no need to verify the author as the facts were self evident through their existence.

Mergers in the World Economy Essay -- Economics Wealth Papers

Mergers in the World Economy . "Monopoly is a great enemy to good management which can never be universally established but in consequence of that free and universal competition which forces every body to have recourse to it for the sake of self-defense" (Smith, 1776: 63). Adam Smith found that monopolies were a negative aspect for an economy therefore supporting competition among firms in order to protect one’s firm. Competition policy affects the nature of firms and policy makers in today’s global economy. Competition policy effects the world economy in many ways and with its increase in importance there must be an international agreement on competition policy. Adam Smith highly regarded competition policy as a means to enhance economic performance. Mergers can provide positive aspects for an economy and competition policy but also provide problems. The merger of aircraft manufacturers shows how mergers directly affect society today. Competition within economies is the act of competing in the international economy. Competition policy is necessary to regulate competition between firms. It serves as a barrier for misconduct of firms while encompassing antimonopoly policies which act as guideline against boundaries or barriers. "Competition policy is understood as facilitating corporate takeovers to allow more efficient managers to control productive assets" (Peritz, 1996: 282) The main goal for competition policy is to support effectiveness of the economy as a whole. Smith points out how competition will only benefit both consumers and producers in the end rather than have a monopoly. "It can never hurt either the consumer or the producer on the contrary it must tend to make the retailers both sell cheaper and bu... ...ade Rules in the Making. Washington DC: The Brookings Institute Press. Jacquemin, Lloyd, Tharakan and Waelbroeck. 1998. "Competition Policy in an International Setting: The Way Ahead." The World Economy Volume 21 Number 8, pages 1179-1183. Kim, E. Han., Singal, Vijay. 1993. "Mergers and Market Power: Evidence from the Airline Industry." The American Economic Review Volume 83 Number 3, pages 549-568. Ott, James. 1986. "Airline Mergers Will Intensify Competition for Aircraft Orders." Aviation Week and Space Technology, pages 32-34. Peritz, Rudolph. 1996. Competition Policy in America: 1888-1992. England: Oxford University Press. Smith, Adam. 1776. The Wealth of Nations. England: Oxford University Press. Tharakan and Lloyd. 1998."Competition Policy in a Changing International Economic Enviroment." The World Economy Volume 21 Number 8, pages 997-1002.

Frankenstein Being More Human than Monster Essay example -- Frankenste

Frankenstein Being More Human than Monster Society is inevitable. It will always be there as a pleasure and a burden. Society puts labels on everything such as good or bad, rich or poor, normal or aberrant. Although some of these stamps are accurate, most are misconceptions. In Mary Shelley's, Frankenstein, this act of erring by society is extremely evident. Two of the most inaccurate assumptions of society revolve around the central characters, Dr. Frankenstein and the monster. Society's labels for these two extremely different characters are on the exact opposite side of the scale of what they truly are. Dr. Frankenstein is more of a monster while the monster is more humane. Dr. Frankenstein, the so labeled decent, no-fault man, is actually irresponsible, stubborn, and extreme in his actions throughout the novel. From the very first encounter with Victor Frankenstein we get a hint if his insaneness when he asks R. Walton, "Do you share my madness?". That is the first thing that he says when he recovers from his illness. Right from the start we know that something is awry with Victor. Dr. Frankenstein's irresponsibility shows through many times in his feelings toward his creation. While he was in the process of shaping his creation, Frankenstein gets so caught up in his work and his yearning to be remembered for all time that he does not consider what will happen after life is breathed into his creation. He is so consumed by his work he does not sleep for days on end, go outside, eat meals, or write to his family. Frankenstein even admits that he could not control his obsession with his work, "For this I had deprived myself of rest and health". What san e person puts his work before his own health? After his cre... ... human he has known or loved has rejected the creature he decides to isolate himself. But as he retreats to his desolation he saves a girl from drowning in river. This concern for human life in addition to his love toward the family is evidence to his humanity. Dr. Frankenstein is a man that cares only of himself and accepts no responsibility for his actions and his creation on the other hand is compassionate and helpful to the humans who despise him. Society has the most influence in a person's point of view on any given point. Mostly society causes misconceptions about people based on appearance and the unknown. This is especially evident in the novel Frankenstein, where labels are placed on the main characters by society are skewed. Dr. Frankenstein turns out to be more of a monster than his creation while his creation is more humane than Dr. Frankenstein is.