Month: January 2017

There are many drugs which come from plants for example heroin, morphine and codeine are all processed from Opium Poppy. Cocaine is derived from Coca Leaves, and Aspirin comes from Willow Bark. Drugs have to be tested to make sure they are safe to ensure it doesn’t harm the human, and they have to make sure they actually work (cure the disease, etc.) The drugs are tested on human cells artificially grown in the lab. The drugs are tested with computer  models, if the drugs pass this stage then they proceed to be tested on animals they tend to put a known amount of the substance on the animal and monitor any noticeable side effects. If they then pass this stage the drugs approach the Clinical Trials, this is when healthy people volunteer for the drugs to be tested on them. If it works on them then the drug will be tested on people with the illness to see if it cures it.

An antibody is a blood protein created to fight against any pathogens which have entered your body. A pathogen can be a bacteria, fungi and a virus, as a result they can cause a disease or an infection.

After two vaccine doses most adults will develop protective antibodies against the Chicken-Pox virus, the vaccination is secure. People who were vaccinated against Chicken-Pox may sometimes develop the disease but it is usually not that severe, with about 50 or fewer red bumps that rarely grow into blisters.

The way it works is a vaccine is created so that our white blood cells are trained to be able to produce many antibodies for the antigens in the case of infection. We use a little part of the disease included in the vaccine so that our defence system reacts and is able to memerise how to create the antibodies. As a result you would be immune from this particular disease. But of course if the disease mutates or changes then we would require a new vaccination as our white blood cells would require a different set of antibodies to kill the antigens. Another method is that perhaps the white blood cell could ingest the bacterium.

Glance into a food bank over the festive season and the idea of hope seems to be far away. Sorrow, yes. Embarrassment, definitely. Or injustice that is so common in our ‘fair’ country. After speaking to the people at the food bank it helped me realise that these people suffering are like you and me. Many people seem to think that poverty is an idea, when it’s a reality that people are facing daily.

If poverty isn’t a problem in the U.K., then why are millions suffering from ‘not being able to make ends meet’?

Over 2 million UK citizens are estimated to be malnourished. This shocking stat outlines a major problem. UK Citizens struggle to earn a living which supports their dietary needs, let alone their family needs. Steve, a former high salary earning man was involved in a fatal collision. Leaving him to survive on benefits, doctors deemed him as ‘not fit for work’. Steve a former high salary earning man was involved in a fatal collision. Leaving him to survive on benefits, doctors deemed him ‘fit for work’. Steve wasn’t able to attend attend his job seekers meeting and as a result got his benefits cut. ” Now I have to go to the food bank every three days for supplies.” Steve isn’t alone though, almost half a million people went to Trussel Trust between April-September 2016. How are people meant to afford stable housing when they can’t afford food?

The homeless are shadowed by the amazing skyscrapers, the beautiful sights and the rich people who flaunt their possessions. The government are ignorant towards the homeless, as if they don’t matter or exist. Some reside in dark alleyways through no choice of their own, but for the sheer fact that the lack of light helps them to sleep. Many people   find hostels to sleep in, but a 30 percent increase in rough sleepers from 2015 (3569) continues to shock the few that care.

Child poverty, is a form of poverty which you are forced into. Over 1/4 of U.K. children live in poverty and 64 percent of those children have a parent that works. This is crazy; how are people working yet they still are finding it hard to give their kids a good childhood. A woman that I spoke to said that “I feel exploited I work my hardest every day, more than others do and yet I go home not being able to buy my child whatever he wants.

To conclude, all of these issues that England faces disprove the statement. At least 3500 people are homeless, a quarter of UK children are living in poor conditions and finally over half a million people attended food banks in the space of 6 months! This is outrageous as these unfortunate people are continued to be neglected and forgotten. If as a society we want to progress we need to address this humanitarian crisis.