Francis Capra

In “Playing God?” by John Evans, technology is dashing at an erratic speed, and nowhere more so than in the field of genetic engineering where the possibility of changing the genes of one’s children isn’t just myth; but quickly becoming a reality. John H. Evans is professor of sociology at the University of California, San Diego. He has been a visiting member of the School of Social Sciences at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ, a post-doctoral fellow at the Robert Wood Johnson…

In the film Gattaca directed by Andrew Niccol the key relationship between the brothers helped the viewer to understand the important idea. In the world of Gattaca, the society is divided into two classes of people – the genetically enhanced Valids and the naturally conceived Invalids. Through the brother’s relationship, Vincent as a faith born child as opposed to Anton as a genetically engineered child, the viewer is shown the idea of a Valid and an Invalid. Vincent and Anton are living in a…

attacked by the English off of a French commune, called Gravelines. After the English won the battle, they followed to Spanish as they retreated to Scotland, until they had to turn back to get supplies. The Armada sent by Spain was defeated by Sir Francis Drake and Lord Charles Howard, whom the Queen hired for they were the best. They were victorious after eight whole hours of ruthless fighting, and then the wind changed. This moved the Spanish back, and the little bits of the Armada were sent…

Sir Francis Drake: Professional Pirate Thesis: Sir Francis Drake was a successful man who was willing to do anything to accomplish his goals. Drake’s Occupations 1560s slave voyages to Africa 1570-1573 pirated Spanish settlements in the Caribbean 1580 received privateer license from Queen Elizabeth 1581-1585 mayor of plymouth colony 1585-1588 chief naval advisor during the war against Spain Drake’s inspiration for choosing a career of privateering 1567 attacked at San Juan de Ulua by the…

the Carleton Prize for Biotechnology, I would like to nominate the brilliant scientist Rosalind Franklin. Her crystallographic work at King’s College, London was a crucial contribution to the double-helix model of DNA discovered by James Watson and Francis Crick (Gregory, 2002). Her contributions to the scientific community are still being quoted today and without the discovery of the structure of DNA, present day scientific projects such as The Genome project would not have been possible…

The Western Intellectual Tradition by J. Bronowski and Bruce Mazlish examines different European/American historical periods from the year 1500 to 1900. It focuses on the great thinkers and philosophers from those times, as well as certain historical periods that are considered significant. This essay focuses on chapters 2, 10, 15, 21, and 23. They are about the city-states of Italy, the Royal society, Montesquieu, Thomas Jefferson and the American Revolution, and Edmund Burke respectively.…

Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification, is the process of directly alternating an organism’s DNA in its genome using biotechnology. Genetic modification has been in practice for many years in the domestication of plants and animals, but despite its unprecedented progress, gene editing in humans, especially in embryonic stem cells, is one of the major controversies in health and science field nowadays. In the article from The Guardian, “Genetically modified human embryos should be…

matter of this painting is St. Clare of Assisi, one of the first followers of St Francis of Assisi. Her portrait, which is in the center of the painting, is surrounded by eight small frames which narrates important episodes of her life. She was raised by wealthy parents, but devoted her life to prayer and unselfishness as a young child. At age 18, she left home, gave up all her possessions, and joined St. Francis in Service. (Web.) I chose this piece of art because St.…

Spanish Mass at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church 1. What happened during the services? I arrived at the church a few minutes prior to the service and I was greatly surprised by how well attended the service was. There were dozens of families in a spectrum of Sunday best and work-stained denim jeans and nearly every person wore a yellow and white vest with a red cross embroidered on the lapel. At the entrance there was a small dipping well and although there was no water in it at the moment…

Human culture has a constant drive for perfection in all aspects of life. People are determined to achieve the best jobs, the best homes and the best form of “living”. Even if all those things are well achieved, humans are driven to strive for more. There seems to be no point where this controlling behavior will get to a stopping point. Recently, technological advancements in medical sciences have allowed potential parents to genetically “play” with preferred traits in an unborn baby. Parents…