Computer Models Show How a Black Hole Eats a Star

Were all fascinated with black holes. We ask astronomers about them, we read about them in the news. and they show up in TV shows and movies.  However, for all our curiosity about these cosmic beasts, we still dont know everything about them. They flout the rules by being hard to study and detect. Astronomers are still figuring out the exact mechanics of how stellar black holes form when massive stars die. All this is made tougher by the fact that we havent seen one up close. Getting near one (if we could) would be very hazardous. No one would survive even a close brush with one of these high-gravity monsters. So, astronomers do what they can to understand them from a distance. They use light (visible, x-ray, radio, and ultraviolet emissions)  that come from the region around the black hole to make some very shrewd deductions about its mass, spin, its jet,  and other characteristics. Then, they feed all this into computer programs designed to model black hole activity.Computer models based on actual observational data of black holes help them to simulate what happens at black holes, particularly when one gobbles something up. What Does a Black Hole ComputerModel Show Us? Lets say that somewhere in the universe, at the  center of a galaxy like our own Milky Way, theres a black hole. Suddenly an intense flash of radiation flares out from the area of the black hole. What has happened? A nearby star has wandered into accretion disk (the disk of material spiraling into the black hole), crossed the event horizon (the gravitational point of no return around a black hole), and is torn apart by the intense gravitational pull. The stellar gases are heated up as the star is shredded  and that flash of radiation is its last communication to the outside world before it is lost forever. The Tell-Tale Radiation Signature Those radiation signatures are important clues to the very existence of a black hole, which does not give off any radiation of its own. All the radiation we see is coming from the objects and material around it. So, astronomers look for the telltale radiation signatures of matter being gobbled up by black holes:  x-rays or radio emissions, since the events that emit them are very energetic.   After studying black holes in distant galaxies, astronomers noticed that some galaxies suddenly brighten up at their cores and then slowly dim down. The characteristics of the light given off and the dim-down time came to be known as signatures of black hole accretion disks eating nearby stars and gas clouds and giving off radiation. It was, as one astronomer said, Like a black hole putting up a sign that said, Here I am!! Data Makethe Model With enough data on these flareups at the hearts of galaxies, astronomers can use supercomputers  to simulate the dynamic forces at work in the region around a supermassive black hole. What theyve found tells us much about how these black holes work and how often they light up their galactic hosts. For example, a galaxy like our Milky Way with its central black hole might gobble up an average of one star every 10,000 years. The flare of radiation from such a feast fades very quickly, so if we miss the show, we might not see it again for quite a long time. But, there are many galaxies, and so astronomers survey as many as possible to look for radiation outbursts. In the coming years, astronomers will be deluged with data from such projects as Pan-STARRS, GALEX, the Palomar Transient Factory, and other upcoming astronomical surveys. There will be  hundreds of events in their data sets  to explore. That should really boost our  understanding of black holes and the stars around them. Computer models will continue to play a large part in delving into the continuing mysteries of these cosmic monsters.

The Ethics of Cadaveric Organs for Transplantation

THE ETHICS OF CADAVERIC ORGANS FOR TRANSPLANTATION The Ethics of Cadaveric Organs for Transplantation Brianne Vought HAS 545.01 Ethics and Health Care Advancements in medicine have allowed for the ability to transplant organs from a cadaver to a living patient. Immunosuppressive drugs have been developed to block the bodily rejection of organs from the deceased making transplantation possible. When an individual dies The Uniform Anatomical Gift Act allows for tissue and organs of the cadaver to be used for transplantation (Garrett, Baillie, amp; Garrett, 2001). This document is a set model or regulations and laws concerning organ donation that all 50 states have passed in some measure. Organs such as the kidneys, heart,†¦show more content†¦In the majority of the religious groups, as long as due respect is shown to the body, cadaver organ transplants are not forbidden (Garrett, Baillie, amp; Garrett, 2001). But in some cultures death is not the end of the soul and that the life of the body can be restored. â€Å"Most families still refuse to donate the organs of their dying relatives† despite all efforts made to increase donations. Harvesting may be thought of as violating the sanctity of the body. Donation may involve â€Å"unwarranted mutilation of the body and so disrespect for the dignity of the human body† (Garrett, Baillie, amp; Garrett, 2001). Individuals are urged to sign an organ donor card with little or no awareness of what that action can mean. How the death is determined may weigh in on the decision to donate. The potential recipient is rarely known, because tissue and compatibility tests must be done. There is always less ethical force in an unnamed potential person that a living identifiable one. The horror stories that make the headlines also deter consent for donation. The few illegal harvesting accusations which are published in newspapers and documented on television deter individuals from donating and allow them to see denial of consent as the barrie r to exploitation and harm. There is also a fear that the organ donor may not actually be dead but declared dead prematurely so that the vital organs can be taken to benefit another human being. The UniformShow MoreRelatedOrgan Donation1787 Words   |  8 PagesOrgan Donation Tanecia Carter HCA 322 Health Care Ethics Medical Law Instructor: Instructor: Susan Vellek August 5, 2013 Organ Donation The process of taking functional organs and tissues from one person for transplantation into another individual is called organ donation. Whereas, any part of the body that performs a different and special function is referred to as an organ. Transplantation takes places quiteRead MoreEthics and Organ Donation1598 Words   |  7 PagesEthics Analysis Paper Ethical Issues Related to Organ Donations In 1983 Dr H Barry Jacobs, a physician from Virginia, whose medical license had been revoked after a conviction for Medicare mail-fraud, founded International Kidney Exchange, Ltd. He sent a brochure to 7,500 American hospitals offering to broker contracts between patients with end-stage-renal-disease and persons willing to sell one kidney. His enterprise never got off the ground, but Dr Jacobs did spark an ethicalRead MoreLegalizing the Sale of Human Organs1071 Words   |  4 PagesLegalizing the sale of human organs has become a very controversial topic in the last few decades. Transplant surgeries were becoming relatively safe to preform, which lead the transplant list to grow rapidly. The debate on how to increment the number of organs available for transplant commenced. 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The controversy of paid organ donations enteredRead MoreOrgan Donation : Organ Organs1054 Words   |  5 PagesOrgan Donation Organ donation occurs when a failing or damaged organ, is replaced with a new organ, through a surgical operation. The two sources of organs for donation come from a deceased person and a living person. The organs that are received from a deceased person are called cadaveric organs. A person can indicate on his or her driver’s license if they want to be an organ donor after they die. There are some states that allow for family consent for organ removal, regardless if the deceasedRead MoreSelling Human Organs10012 Words   |  41 PagesTERM PAPER RESEARCH : Selling Human Organs ARTICLE 1 : Should people be allowed to sell their organs? Currently, exchanging organs for money or other valuable considerations is illegal, but some members of the medical and business communities would like to change that. One of those is the American Medical Associations influential Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs. Convinced that the balance of moral and ethical concerns favors the ability to sell organs, they would like the laws to changeRead MoreOrgan Supply Vs Organ Demand : Ethical Issues That Arise1727 Words   |  7 PagesDebra Berry English 102-1417 23 June 2015 Organ Supply vs Organ Demand: Ethical Issues that arise Organ donation has the power to change a life ending incident into a life giving one. Throughout the United States many patients are suffering due to the lack of a vital organ, because there is more demand than supply of organs, many patients die without ever receiving one. Although organ donation saves many lives, there have been questions in regards to ethics that surround it. People are even making

Animal Rights Final Research Paper Free Essays

Animal Rights Final Research Paper Franco Pacheco ENGL-135 Prof. Gurin DeVry University December 13, 2012 Animal rights The idea of animal rights is not new. Through the 18th and 19th Century philosophers like Rousseau, Kant, Bentham, and Schopenhauer have produced different arguments in favor of the treatment of animals. We will write a custom essay sample on Animal Rights Final Research Paper or any similar topic only for you Order Now Animal rights is the idea that nonhuman animals are entitled to the possession of their own lives and that they should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings. All animals are equal in the sense that they all can sense pain and suffering however as far as treating them like humans, I do not think so. Humans have been eating meat for as long as we have been on this earth and there is nothing wrong with that. That does not mean people enjoy killing them for pleasure, their lives are taking for our survival. Eating meat is not wrong as long as we are conscious of their contribution to humankind over the years, providing us with transportation, food, clothing, and companionship. Torturing and killing animals for pleasure is wrong, however, eating their meat moderately for survival is not. By the beginning of the 18th century, writers began to discuss animal feelings of pain and suffering, vivisection, and the cruel treatment of animals raised and slaughtered for food. All animals have the same capacity for suffering, but how we see them differs and that determines what we will tolerate happening to them. Most people are not capable of killing what they eat with their own hands but if is cooked and served; there are no thoughts of how or where it came from. Over 9 billion chickens, pigs, cattle, turkeys, sheep, goats, ducks, and geese are bred, raised, and killed for food annually in America. Today, the breeding of farm animals is dominated by industrialized facilities that maximize profits by treating them as production units and forgetting that they can also feel pain as human do. The abuse of farm animals in factory farms, for example, did not see an influx until the early 19th century, when small family farms and traditional ranching of livestock started to cave under the pressure of larger institutional farming practices. As factory farms became the norm, so, unfortunately did the systematic and prolonged abuse of animals raised for human consumption. Most animals in these facilities are forced to endure physical and psychological abuse for months if not years on end, deprived of the ability to perform behaviors inherent to their species, and housed in overcrowded facilities with insufficient food, water, and natural light. Most are given steroids to enhance growth, and antibiotics to fend off illnesses that are likely to occur in such unsanitary conditions. Their eventual slaughter is often performed in a manner as inhumane as the condition in which they are forced to exist until that day. There are many people working for the improvement of the ways in which animals that are raised for food are handled and slaughtered; most notable is Temple Grandin. She is one of the leading authorities on the design of animal handling facilities, specializing in the humane handling of animals at the point of slaughter in the meat industry. She is credited with having â€Å"done more to improve welfare for animals at the point of slaughter than any human alive. † According to data extrapolated from U. S. Department of Agriculture reports that nearly 10. billion land animals were raised and killed for food in the United States in 2010. This is a 1. 7% rise from the 2009 totals, larger than the 0. 9% increase in US population, meaning that animals killed per-capita increased slightly. Based on January-August 2011 USDA slaughter numbers, it is projected that the number of land animals killed in 2011 will increase an additional 1% from 2010 numbers, rising to approximately 10,266 million animals. Fortunately, due to increased feed prices and sinking domestic demand, Bloomberg. om is speculating that there may be a 5% drop in animals raised for food in 2012! While the number of aquatic animals killed each year is not reported, meticulous calculations by researcher Noam Mohr estimate the number of finfishes killed each year for US consumption to be 13,027 million, and the number of shellfishes to be 40,455 million, resulting in a combined 53,481 million (over 53 billion) aquatic animals who died for American consumption in 2010. Becoming a vegetarian overnight will not stop the purposeful harm done to animals at the hands of human beings. Consequently, I agree that there is a lot that has gone very wrong with most of our meat production, but we are omnivores, and arguing that we are not is not going to get us anywhere. It may be possible to live without meat, but considering that all animals will eventually die, will be a sin not to eat them before other animals do. We feel bad of the killing of the animals we eat, but not bad enough to stop eating them completely. People have their own reasons for becoming vegan and not everyone is concern about the animal’s welfare. Becoming vegan will not stop animal abuse; people are still going to do what they want to do, especially if it involves animal cruelty. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) can do all they can, but you cannot right all the wrongs in the world. The most prominent of the abolitionists is Gary Francione, professor of law and philosophy at Rutgers School of Law-Newark. He argues that focusing on animal welfare may actually worsen the position of animals, because it entrenches the view of them as property, and makes the public more comfortable about using them. I actually hate the way animals are treated and could not find a better way of killing them without making it go through torture. However, I am not switching to become vegan, just because a group of people considers it cruelty. I still love meat, but I treat animals with respect and morality because they are providing the protein my body needs for survival. It is not admissible to cause animal’s unnecessary pain and suffering. I do not believe in the unethical treatment of animals, however I do believe in the ethical use of them. Confinement production of livestock and poultry has generated a major conflict between the meats, dairy, poultry industries, and reformist welfare and abolitionists animal rights group. They condemn and oppose factory farming because they view intensive production as inhumane, being carried out under unnatural conditions and causing suffering for the animal and poultry. Over the past 50 years, animal agriculture has increased from small family farms to large corporate factory farming systems. In these factory-farming systems, their main concern is increasing the profits margins at all costs and the process has devastating consequences for the animals. Farmed animals lead a life of misery from the moment they are born to when they are slaughtered. Every day, everywhere across the globe, millions of these animals are mishandled, kept in confinement, mutilated as part of routine husbandry practices, and deprived of their basic physical and behavioral needs. In September of 1994, The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) designated the National Farm Animals Awareness Week (Guither, pg. 1). They criticized the cruelty of the confinement housing of such animals and they asked consumers to â€Å"shop with compassion. † Bernard E. Rollin an American philosopher and currently a professor of philosophy, animal sciences, and biomedical sciences at Colorado State University urges the food animal producers and animal industry â€Å"not to resist and combat the new ethic f or animals , for they will not win, but rather to appropriate it into their production systems with the help of research that acknowledges and respects the patent truth that animals can both suffer and be happy†(Guither, pg. 9). In the last two decades hundreds of thousands Americans have fight animal rights as part of a new, powerful and controversial social movement. All animal liberationists believe that the individual interests of non-human animals deserve recognition and protection, but the movement can be split into two broad camps. Animal rights advocates, or rights liberationists, believe that these basic interests confer moral rights of some kind on the animals, and/or ought to confer legal rights on them; for example, the work of Philosophers Tom Regan and Peter Singer. They do not believe that animals possess moral rights, but argue, on utilitarian grounds (Utilitarianism in its simplest form advocating that we base moral decisions on the greatest happiness of the greatest number) that, because animals have the ability to suffer, their suffering must be taken into account in any moral philosophy (Isacat, 2008). Dr. David Nibert is a Professor of Sociology at the Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. He teaches Animals Society, Global Change, Social Stratification, Minority Groups, and Law and Society. He is the author of Animal Rights/Human Rights: Entanglements of Oppression and Liberation (Rowman/Littlefield). He conducted a survey among residents of Clark County, Ohio and found that support for animal rights is significantly related to seven of the eleven variables, suggesting the existence of an important link between one’s disposition toward human and nonhuman animals. Five hundred and one residents of Clark County, Ohio, aged eighteen and older, responded to a telephone survey conducted April 16-18, 1993. This survey was designed to examine respondent’s opinions on several social issues. One of the questions was, â€Å"Some people say that animals have rights that people should respect. Would you agree or disagree? † They were also asked eleven questions adapted from the General Social Survey (Wood, 1990). Here are the results of the Nibert’s survey: â€Å"Of the 501 respondents, 246 (49. 1 %) were male and 255 (50. 9%) were female. 81 1 (20. 8%) were less than 30 years of age, 208 (41. 6%) were between 30 and 49 years old, and 184 (36. 8%) were over 50. 76 (15. 2%) had not graduated from high school, 277 (55. 3%) were high school graduates and 143 (29. %) were college graduates. The sample was predominantly white (461 or 92%) and married (334 or 66. 7%). In response to the animal rights question, 373 respondents (74. 5%) agreed, 84 (16. 8%) disagreed, 37 (7. 4%) were undecided and 7 (1. 4%) refused. For purposes of convenience, the respondents who agreed that animals have rights will be referred to as â€Å"animal rights supporters. † Examinati on of demographic variables reveals that age, sex, place of residence and religion were significantly related to support for animal rights. Younger people were more likely to support animal rights than older people, women more than men, and city residents more than those living in more rural areas of the county (Nibert 1994). † To summarize, Animal rights are a matter of personal choice. Every individual has a right to decide how he or she wants to treat others, including other species. Animals have been around on the earth for as long as humans have, if not longer. They play an important role in today’s society whether or not we choose to admit it. To say that animals have rights is only to end the discussion before it starts. Animals will be animals and they will eat one another for the need of survival: that is a natural phenomenon. We can reduce some suffering by eliminating certain practices in certain areas, but this will not solve the problem. As explained above, we cannot humanely raise nine billion animals. Going vegan is the only solution. Also, keep in mind that some meat, eggs and dairy products are misleadingly marketed as â€Å"humane† but offer only marginal improvements over traditional factory farming. These animals are not raised humanely if they are in larger cages, or are taken out of cages only to live in overcrowded barns. And â€Å"humane slaughter† is an oxymoron. References Cavalieri, Paola. (2001) the animal question, why nonhuman animals deserve human rights. New York, NY: Oxford University Press Grillo, Alexander, (August 15, 2012), Five Reasons Why Meat-Eating Cannot Be Considered a ‘Personal Choice’ Free from Harm, Food and Psychology http://freefromharm. org/food-and-psychology/five-reasons-why-meat-eating-cannot-be-considered-a-personal-choice/ Guither, Harold D. (1998) Animal rights, History and scope of a radical social movement. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press Issitt, Micah Newton, Heather (2011), p2-2, 1p – Animals Deserve the Same Rights as Humans. http://search. ebscohost. com. proxy. devry. edu/login. aspx? direct=truedb=pwhAN=26608510site=pov-live Rich, Alex Wagner Geraldine (2011), p1-1, 1p Points of View: Animal Rights: An Overview. http://search. ebscohost. com. proxy. devry. edu/login. aspx? direct=truedb=pwhAN=22827052site=pov-live Thompson, Michael (2012) Why We Have Ethical Obligations to Animals: Animal Welfare and the Common Good more http://wpunj. academia. du/MichaelThompson/Papers/392701/Why_We_Have_Ethical_Obligations_to_Animals_Animal_Welfare_and_the_Common_Good April 12, 2011. American Humane Association hails ‘yes’ vote on humane standards for poultry in Washington http://www. americanhumane. org/animals/animal-welfare-news/american-humane-association-hails-yes-vote. html Report: Number of Animals Killed In US Increases in 2010 http://farmusa. org/statistics11. html Animal Rights and Human Social Issues David A. Nibert, Wittenberg University (1994) http://www. animalsandsociety. org/assets/library/283_s222. pdf How to cite Animal Rights Final Research Paper, Essays