October Sky

I recently watched the movie October Sky in school. I brief outlook of the movie can be found here. There were many connections to science in this movie, such as it had to do with Astronomy, which plays a big role in the science community. In fact, the main character, Homer Hickam, became an astronaut trainer at NASA(National Aeronautics and Space Administration). It had math connections as well, which were highlighted when Homer figured out that they(his friends and himself), could not have started a fire that they were accused of.


What I thought: I guess it was OK. It wasn't the best movie I've ever seen, but then again, the best movie I've ever seen was Dark Knight, and nothing can beat that. Not even the ever-annoying "twilight". But anyway, October Sky was a little boring. It's not a movie I would want to watch again, but overall, it was all right.

Blog Responce

(This is a blog response to CoOkIeMoNsTeR's "Sickle-Cell Anemia" )

Sickle-Cell Anemia is a disease that stops blood from flowing to a certain organ which can cause extreme pain and organ damage. People effected by Sickle-Cell are both male and female, and they are normally African-Americans. 1 in 500 Blacks are effected, and can effect 1 in 36,000 Hispanic children have Sickle-Cell Anemia. In order to form more treatments, doctors need to learn how Sickle-Cell Anemia effects the bones.

What I Think: I feel that it is horrible that this happens to people. It sounds terribly painful and I would never want to go though it myself. In CoOkIeMoNsTeR's blog, she seems to emphasise the pain of the treatments. The question I still have is what is it about these treatments that make it hurt so bad?

Tay-Sachs Disease

Tay-Sachs Disease was discovered by Warren Tay in 1881. If the patient is a baby, they seem to develop fine for the first few months, but then become blind, deaf, and unable to swallow. This is due to the fatty material distending the cells. The is currently no cure or treatments for this terrible disease, although medication and good nutrition can help symptoms. It is fatal in children, and they usually die by age four, survival beyond age five is extremely rare. Tay-Sachs is mostly found Eastern European Ashkenzai Jews. Other then that, it is an uncommon disease. If anything else, what needs to be understood about this disease is treatment or a cure, to save the lives of many people. The is currently a foundation working toward this called "Dakota's Dream". Dakota is an 9-year old girl that is battling Tay-Sachs. Dakota had a cord blood transplant done at Duke Medical Center in January of 2006, but the disease continues to grow. She is slowly losing her mental and physical abilities because her body is missing an important enzyme needed to clear waste from brain cells. One in every 250 people carry this fatal gene mutation.

What I Think: I feel terrible for the children with this disease, as well as their families. Some children spend weeks in the hospital, and I know how it feels to have a loved one in the hospital for such a long time. Hopefully, someday, we will find a cure for Tay-Sachs and put many families at ease.


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