Tapeworms as Parasites

Symbiosis is a close relationship between two organisms in which one organism lives near, on, or even inside another organism and in which at least one organism benefits. There are three different types of symbiosis, mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism. Mutualism is a form of symbiosis in which both organisms benefit. Commensalism is a form of symbiosis in which one organism benefits and the other is not harmed. Lastly, parasitism is a form of symbiosis in which an organism benefits and the other is harmed. In parasitism there is a parasite and a host. A parasite is an organism that lives on or inside the body of a host organism and harms the host. A host is an organism that provides a home for another organism; in parasitism, the host organism that is harmed by the parasite. For example, a tapeworm is a parasite causing infections in humans. A tapeworm infection is caused by eating meat that is not cooked enough. The tapeworm once inside the human can grow to be very large. According to a recent Mayo Clinic article, a tapeworm can measure 50 feet long and stay in the body for 20 years. Tapeworms can attach themselves to the intestine and grow there for many years. Tapeworms can cause symptoms of pain in the stomach, dizziness and diarrhoea. A tapeworm can be removed using surgery or using strong medicine. In the picture above, on a show called "House," the doctors are taking out a tapeworm from a woman's body. In my opinion, tapeworms are very disgusting. Therefore, I would cook everything well before I eat just in case there is a tapeworm in it. I would not want to be in the hospital for eating something bad.

I got my information at:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tapeworm_infection

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/tapeworm/DS00659/DSECTION=causes

Wind Farms on Water

Wind power is an environmentally safe way to help us create power. Wind farms are very common throughout Europe. These are also located on the coastlines of New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Delaware on dry lands and other places in the United States. This week, I read an article about how offshore wind power could affect currents and therefore affect marine life. What the scientists are thinking in this article is that when wind farms are converted from dry land to the water, they should be studied carefully. The wind blows more on the sea and could affect the tides. The Norwegian scientist, Goran Brostorm, says, “I think you will see a large effect over time. You will get more plankton blooming, and you will see more vibrant life overall at that place.” I think he is trying to say that with the wind farms in the ocean more life will occur. For example, if the number of plankton increase then the whales will have more to eat and the whale life could increase. This can happen with any kind of species with the wind farms in the ocean. There could also be a negative side effect. Plankton can also cause toxic red tides and could suck the oxygen from the water which could be bad. Overall, Brostrom’s cautions that anything can happen and this phenomena should be studied carefully.

I got my information from:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27681666/