Discussion Post #1: What does it mean to be human?

My own interpretation of what it means to be human is the ability to have shared communication with one another. Thus, the definition of humanity is the sharing of ideas, emotions, and resources that extends throughout time, from the past, present, to future. This could be in the form of shared emotions or empathy. Humans and many other great ape primates demonstrate the ability to feel the emotions that their own species displays. Chimpanzees have documented mourning the death of a lost one. Therefore, it is not a complete surprise that one of the traits humans have evolved and developed as well as our distant relative the chimpanzee, is compassion. However, what separates humans and chimpanzees, in this case the mourning of the deceased, is that humans, specifically, bring out the thoughts and emotions associated with the dead. Through the strong connections we have with our loved ones residing in our memory, we are one of the only animals that bury our dead and even provide annual ceremonial offerings. There is no inherent benefit to this behavior in the survival sense. In fact, these emotion-based altruistic behaviors could be seen as a waste of precious time and resources. This example relates to a personal childhood experience of mine where I would visit the cemetery of my ancestors who have passed away many years ago whom I’ve never met because I wasn’t even born yet. At the time I, too, felt this custom was a waste of time. However, I knew it was important to my older relatives who sought to continue this tradition every spring. Therefore principles of shared communication that makes an animal human could be rooted in their culture. As depicted in the (Rochat, 2006) commentary to Jill Byrnit: Primate Theory of Mind, humans are yet again one of the few animals that require the support and dependance of their parent for a large majority of their early life, an estimated one-quarter of their life is tied to their biological parents. Some of the children of parents even form healthy codependency relationships with them far into their adulthood. Unsurprisingly, this is prevalent in my culture as well.

 

Final Research Presentation Feedback

May 4, 2023

Xavier

• African-American Socioeconomic Impact on Mental Health
• This topic was important to the writer because he was born and raised in a single parent household. They felt that this topic had a deeper connection which would help with their research
• 7% of Black men have experienced mental health illnesses such as depression
• Household teachings and man’s stereotypes has led to a higher unwillingness in black men to seek medical treatment for their declining mental health

Daniel 

• Environmental Climate Change and Mental Health Implications
• This topic was important to the writer because they are passionate about how climate change affects the mental health of people more so than the economic aspects of environmental change.
• The topic focuses on the mental health of citizens in Japan due to their susceptibility to tsunamis. 
• Interesting location to discuss environmental climate change and the mental health affects 

Walter

• How Limited Supermarkets affect Low Income Communities
• Delis have limited access to healthy produce, like fruits and vegetables.
• More delis around CCNY campus than supermarkets
• Health Risks: Obesity, Cardiovascular Disease
• Obesity has links to low-income communities
• Very unique topic
• This topic was important to the writer because the number of supermarkets is a major contributor to overall health of a community. Communities with less supermarkets and more delis were at a greater risk for health-related implications

Max

• Genetic And Mental Health Affects
• Genetic Testing indicate that certain genomes influence the risk of mental psychiatric disorders
• Genetic Engineering can be implemented to help treat and prevent mental illnesses in the future. 
• Specific genomes such as those prevalent in patients with Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder
• This topic was important to the author because they wanted to bring notice to the audience/readers one of the major causes of mental illnesses, which is through the passage of genes from parents to offsprings (genetics)

Chigoziri 

• Health Impacts of Objectifying Women
• The objectification of women leads to greater risk of STI and alcoholism
• Alcoholism impacts women more heavily and healthwise than men which results in high rates of women risking sexual violence 
• Societal Norms influence the objectification of women, such as beauty standards, socioeconomic status and position. 
• This topic was important to the presenter because the objectification of women leads to greater instances of discrimination, especially within the workforce, socioeconomically, mental illnesses, and their overall health 

Carlos

• Opioid Crisis and the Impact on Society 
• Overdose Rates are on the Rise 
• Fentanyl is more addictive than morphine
• This topic is important to the writer because it is vital to understand the dangers of fentanyl and overdoses
• Mexico and California has a high rate of fentanyl use
• This topic is important to the writer because they want to bring awareness to the lethal danger of uncontrolled fentanyl use. In addition, they wanted to express the alarming rise of overdose rates due to fentanyl

May 9, 2023

1. David (Chemical Spills)

• Effects of oil spills on bodies of water
• Effects of chemical spills on health
• This topic was important to the presenter because chemical spills such as oil spills and nuclear waste spills pose a major threat to both human health and aquatic sea life. These spills can contaminate numerous cities and homes by affecting their drinking water

2. Maya (Plastic Surgery on Health)

• Silicon implants for breasts and buttocks are the most prevalent
• Social media can be a contributing factor for cosmetic plastic surgery
• Plastic Surgery is widely received by people in California, particularly, the Hollywood area
• This topic is important to the writer because the use of plastic surgery could be negatively affected by societal norms. Plastic surgery portrays both the aspects of cosmetic and necessity. As a result, unnecessary health complications from these surgeries could arise if they are done solely for cosmetic purposes

3. Cailyn (Abortion)

• Abortion can be broken up into three stages
• Abortion can be given to patients who are at varying trimesters.
• First, the early stages of aborting a pregnancy takes place between the first week to the thirteenth week of pregnancy
• Roe v. Wade
• This topic is important to the author because abortion is a widely discussed subject today with many different points of view. It is also an enduring issue that many women around the world face with regards to its accessibility 

4. Densie (Child Abuse)

• Different types of PTSD
• Child abuse can take on many forms: physical, emotional, psychological, and sexual
• It can be carried out by anyone: parents or anyone who has authority over the child
• This topic is important to the presenter because they wanted to discuss the implications that child abuse and trauma can have on the child’s mental health and behaviors later on

5. Ihosephm (Eating Disorders)

• Eating disorder is a type of mental illness 
• These disorders can be associated with the sufferers’ detrimental eating behaviors
• Some examples included excessively overeating or undereating due to physiological stress, anxiety, or other stressors
• Social media and the perception of what is the “ideal” body figure could have a major effect on the development eating disorders 
• The author views this topic as important because they want to bring awareness to the treatments and solutions of eating disorders and how importance of seeking medical help in the early stages of these disorders and mental illnesses 

6. Christian

• Health Implications of Antimicrobial Resistance and Residue from Farmland Animal Products

7. Ndeye (Autism Awareness)

• Delayed Learning skills
• Delayed language skills 
• Unusual mood and mood changes
• 75 million children affected by autism 
• This topic was important to the writer because autism can be misinterpreted or held with a negative connotation. As a result, the writer wants to bring awareness to the true causes of autism and how autism affects people differently on the spectrum. 

May 11, 2023

8. Cynthia (Alzheimer’s Disease) 

• She chose this topic because she was already familiar with Alzheimer’s Disease prior and was interested in the topic beforehand
• Alzheimer’s Disease is primary genetic 
• Many stages of Alzheimer’s 

9. Gabriel (Art Therapy)

• Art therapy acts as emotional support and releasing of happy thoughts and feelings
• Art therapy helps with relieving stress and improving mental illness
• He chose this topic because he has always shown interest in drawing and sculpting as early as 2 years of age. 

10. Jeremiah (Gender Affirming Care)

• Gender Dysphoria: physiological 
• Gender affirming care is the practice of aiding the transitioning of patients with gender dysphoria to help them better identify with their 
• Hormonal Therapy: gels, pill/medication, surgery to help with the transition to their desired gender
• Masculinizing GAHT – different physiological changes in the body associated with male characteristics
• Feminizing GAHT – different physiological changes in the body associated with female characteristics
• He chose this topic because gender dysphoria is an issue that is extremely relevant in today’s social environment. People transitioning face many mental and societal challenges. Thus, the writing wants to shed light on some of these challenges 

11. Yan (Air Pollution)

• Air pollution causes many health implications such as lung and heart disease, blood clots, as well as cancer. 
• Weaken immune system 
• Low socioeconomic background neighborhood affects people’s accessibility to healthcare
• Solution: There are many preventative measures to reducing the output of air pollution such as using taking the train, carpooling, recycling 
• The presenter chose this topic because air pollution is an enduring issue that parallels that of global warming. The progression of global warming has exacerbated the consequences of air pollution as well.  

12. Fariha (CRISPR)

• Very recent development 10 years ago
• Previously, the most advanced form of gene editing was known as gene mapping
• Gene editing can be beneficial in the agricultural sector and livestock sector
• CRISPR could be vital in treating many incurable diseases such as HIV
• Fear that CRISPR could lead to the unfair advantage of people that have this advanced technology in terms of desirable genetic trait, alleles
• Social justice, consent, and public knowledge is the primary concern of their use
• This topic was important to the presenter because they are studying genealogy and this field of study is still relatively new. As a result, there are still social and ethical concerns associated with the research.    

May 16, 2023

Name: Reem

13. Stress and the Effect on the Immune System 

• Stress can be both positive and negative for your immune system
• Stress can support immune system health by stimulating inflammatory responses 
• However long-term stress can be damaging to the overall health of the body
• Cortisol is the body’s stress hormone. It is released by the adrenal glands 
• This topic is important to the presenter because the consequences of stress can be latent and many other diseases could be attributed to underlying stress. 

Name: Stanley

14. Health Implications of Boxing

• Parkinson’s Disease is associated with consequences of boxing,
• Many varying changes in the rule of boxing
• Overtime rules have changed to try and improve the safety of boxing and participants
• This topic was important to the writer because they have alway been interested in boxing. They were inspired by athletes such as Muhammad Ali and their illness that resulted from boxing

Name: Raymond

15. Exoplanets and the Life Beyond 

• The finding of exoplanet is important because we can determine if there is life in other parts of the solar galaxy
• The discovery of a magnetic field on an exoplanet is vital in determining if life is sustainable. 
• The finding of water is also paramount in the support of biological life
• This topic was important to the presenter because exoplanets are useful for understanding our own planet and the universe as a whole. Studying exoplanets helps us understand what life outside our home is like or and even that of distant galaxies