"Science does not know its debt to imagination."

Assignment:

Assess how societal needs (i.e. the need for healthy foods; active lifestyles) lead to scientific and technological developments related to internal systems.

All over the world, the need for healthy foods and active lifestyles has lead to scientific and technological developments related to internal body systems. Soon enough, there will be more people over 60 years old than under 20. This shift in the demographics will become an increasing world-wide phenomenon as global life expectancy rises. Research on the certain nutritional needs of older generations will likely be a major demand for health-promoting foods for the older population. Such studies create th

e demand for technological developments that would be able to track physiological factors affecting adequate nutrition for older people, together with their attitudes, and the ability to deal with the issues of loss of sensory perception (taste, etc.) and social factors, like tiredness and loneliness, associated with aging that impact nutrition for older people.

Over the next 25 years or so there will be a significant change in the age demography of the world. Along with this shift comes a major societal challenge; to improve the quality of life and reduce disability and dependency in an increasingly ageing population. Age-adjusted incidence of major chronic diseases suggest strong environmental determinants, including the influence of diet. However, the active lifestyles led by today’s older generations have brought about higher demand for convenience foods. Healthy ageing men and women among all groups, but particularly in older people, may not be possible until the physiological factors and mechanisms of food choice and acceptance have been fully understood. This is where scientific and technological advancements come in. Researchers, using these developments study the sensory physiology, cognitive and social determinants of food choice, intake and enjoyment in different age groups and cultures. The information acquired will help to develop future full understanding of nutrition for the aged and improve the quality of the food and drink industry by informing the design of a new generation of health-promoting foods that complement the physiological condition of their digestive system.

A European research initiative has investigated the relationships between sensory physiology and food liking, using modern digital equipments, studied the degradation of sensory capability in the elderly and determined how this affects food liking and general well-being. This allowed insights into the attitudes and behavior of older people to food with regard to different socio-economic and lifestyle factors. The research was carried out in a concerted effort to re-assess the food sensory requirements of older consumers with the goal to provide direction for the production of tasty and acceptable new foods for them. This production will in turn necessitate the development and creation of leading-edge technological equipments to ensure the new-generation food products are produced at required quality standards.

A consumer’s response to the sensory properties of foods, namely the appearance, smell, taste, mouth feel and texture of the food, is among the most important factors determining sustained consumption of a particular product. However, as ageing progresses, people lose sensory abilities, resulting in a changed perception of food. This may lead to loss of eating pleasure and a reduced desire to eat in a healthy way. Diagnostic instrumentation have been developed to performs tests that measure the sensory properties of food such as odour, taste and ‘mouth-feel’ abilities and studies of sensory abilities in ageing, sensory memory, cross-modal sensory interactions, and large-scale cross cultural liking of meals were carried out. In addition, the influence of sensory properties and eating environments on repeated food intake has been studied. Finally, qualitative and quantitative surveys were conducted and attitudes and behavior with respect to food choice were investigated through laboratory tests and experimentations.

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The valuable results these tests generated would not have been possible had it not been for the advancement in science and they corresponding technological developments that enabled these tests to be done. Results of the tests showed a complex relationship between sensory abilities and food preferences, as loss in sensory abilities was not uniform in elderly people or the individual senses important for food choice. Diagnostics were able to show there is a compensation for specific losses to some senses, and the taking advantage of the abilities that are left of the other senses, are important to establish new references for products tailored for some older consumers with specific sensory losses: such as enhancement of some flavors and mouth-feel of foods. In addition, environmental factors, such as the eating situation and eating context, can also be used to

compensate for losses in sensory abilities.

The testing proved that for the elderly, the link between health and diet is not as obvious as it is for younger people. In addition, although many changes in eating habits that accompany ageing are due to the ageing process itself, other social and psychological factors are of major importance, including tiredness, widowhood and, most critically, loneliness. All these social factors cause older people to lose motivation in preparing and consuming meals. A variety of inter-country and demographic differences among the elderly were also found through advanced digital equipments, for example in responses to controlled food tastings, and specific dietary needs and barriers must be considered when developing strategies to promote health through diet.

Thanks to the scientific and technological developments related to internal body systems, the need for healthy foods and active lifestyles by every one, and most especially, the elderly, has been fully established. Tests that assess the digestive system can uncover problems like intestinal wall permeability, small bowel bacterial overgrowth, enzyme deficiencies, malabsorption, Candida yeast presence, poor immune function, parasite activity, specific intolerances, and bacterial infection. All these tests using the latest in diagnostic capabilities contribute to the promotion of a healthier and more active global population. So although the numbers may seem awkward, we can rest assured knowing that technology has got our back when it comes to health and nutrition.

That's all for now,

- Angel

Commented on:

Jodi

Kyle Michaels

Links:

Aging taste buds

World population

Internal Medicine

Tests for Digestive Disorders

Question:

Artificial selection has resulted in plants that are more disease-resistant, cows that produce more milk, and racehorses that run faster. One must wonder what will come next. In the blog entry answer the following question - under what circumstances should humans be artificially selecting plants or animals, if any?




Artificial Selection or the intentional choosing of individuals of a species for the purpose of reproduction of certain traits with the result that the desired characteristics will appear in subsequent generations is a current practice among various fields but probably more prevalent in the food industry.




Artificial Selection is used in creating perfectly bred dogs, incredibly large chicken, muscular cows, and determines the future of the species that are affected.

Intentional Artificial Selection is characterized by conscious design or purpose, but artificial selection can also occur accidentally.




From among who do this deliberately, a choice is made from a number of alternatives. But who are the people who practice artificial selection on purpose? Scientists? Ordinary people? Hobos off the street?




When you think about it, we all do. We all make that choice. The difference lies in the level of impact to the world around us, and that is dependent on the circumstances and species being dealt with.




Individuals of a species: The poor little (or big) subjects that are being manipulated! Why them!? What do humans get out of them?

Animals were made for humans to care for and use, as stated in the Bible. We are allowed to use then as we need to but we are also responsible for their lives and wellbeing. Over time, humans have taken advantage of animals like chickens, pigs, and cows, and other animals used for food, and pets like cats and dogs. Humans also stand by as species become extinct while they continue to modify and artificially select better versions of the animals that are still alive.




A certain trait or characteristic of a species is so unique or become so valuable that they simply MUST be replicated unto the future generations. To modify and alter the species population so that they all posses the desired trait and will add even more value to the species.




Example: Boneless? Skinless? Featherless?

Chickens without feathers are bred to be more energy efficient to grow and farm so you can grow even more chickens than before! This may benefit humans exponentially but is so unnatural to the chickens. It also leaves them more vulnerable to disease and sickness, plus the overt fact that it would get cold easily.

Example: This is SPARTA!

An example of artificial selection in humans would be in, you guessed it! SPARTANS! YEAH!

As you may have seen in the movie 300, (based on the true history of the Spartans in Greece,) all Spartan men are bred to be powerful warriors. This means that they need to be healthy with no trace of any deformities. If any abnormality is found in their physical appearance, they are thrown into the place of rejection: a valley where mounds of rejected baby corpses rot. The Spartans took the selection process seriously and artificially selected the best males and females to breed and maintain their "physical superiority" reputation.

Artificial Selection can occur whether we realize it or not. Simply choosing a faster, stronger, or better individual over another in the same species is already artificial selection because it affects that individual and its offspring (or lack thereof). This would affect the future generations and future or the whole species. Whether we realize it or not, the choices we make as humans make all the difference in the lives of other species on this planet.

Example: Samurai Crabs!!

Heikegani are a species of crabs in Japan whose shells are patterned to resemble a human face, or more specifically, a Japanese Samurai face. They are believed to be reincarnations from spirits of fallen Heike warriors from the Battle of Dan-no-ura. Because of this, when gathering crab, farmers believe in respecting crabs with faces on their shells and throw them back while eating the non-patterned shelled crabs.

This is artificial selection. Since the farmers allow the samurai patterned crabs to live on, they also allow them to reproduce more while they decrease the number of non-patterned crabs. Soon enough, there will be a large majority of sacred samurai faced crabs with very normal ones little left to eat.

There is really no way of convincing the Japanese to disregard their tradition and eat face patterned crabs. But over time, because of their propensity to preserve the special crabs, they will soon be overwhelmed by the vast majority of its population - of the kind they can't eat.

So we know that everyone does participate in artificial selection one way or another but the question that begs to be asked is: Who SHOULD?

I think the strongest motivation to deliberately practice artificial selection is economics. Plant and animal breeders select qualities in different species that are useful to humans and through breeding programs, they are ensuring that greater yielding crops and animals are produced. In the food industry, it simply is a more efficient way of ensuring the continuous supply of these desired (live) products. Artificial selection minimizes wastage (of unwanted or unusable parts) and therefore contributes to cost-effectiveness of their operations.

What are the intentions?

Intentions are what we should base our decision on when deciding whether humans should be allowed to artificially select plants or animals or not.

If you're superstitious and just following tradition like the Japanese then your intentions may be innocent and you're just doing what you've been brought up to do and that is, respect the fallen warriors of your country. I can understand that and this act of allowing only the samurai faced crabs to survive is not necessarily creating a new species of crab. There is nothing genetically varying in these crabs, they don't have better immune systems or better/worse meat (that we know of, but then again, no one ever eats them so how would we know?). This artificial selection is simply making the predominant specie more unison in appearance. Japanese farmers will continue to harvest them until the day comes when they are ALL samurai face patterned and basically untouchable. I think eventually they would overpopulate the waters, and then the Japanese will have some morally defining decisions to make.

So under what circumstances should people be allowed to artificially select animals or plants? I think that most situations are acceptable as long as it doesn't cause the extinction of an entire species or something of the like. In the end, I think that everyone will be involved some sort of artificial selection and I think it would take too much effort to try to avoid it just because we don't think we should be participating in it. In the same way we can't help but choose our future mates in life we also cannot help but choose our livestock, plants, food and pets. Artificial selection is a part of the web of life; it's inevitable. No one can escape it and everyone should embrace the concept. But most importantly, everyone must be thoughtful and considerate when making decisions that affect other species.