Courses
Wayne State University
College of Lifelong Learning
Interdisciplinary Studies Program
Bullet1.gif (242 bytes)Changing Life on Earth, GST 2020, 4 cr
    Section 981 (face-to-face Wednesdays 6:00 - 8:30 PM in
    222 Cohn on campus) and Section 990 (online)
Bullet1.gif (242 bytes)Health Concepts and Strategies, GST 2010, 3 cr
    Section 981 (face-to-face, Wednesdays 8:40 - 10 PM in 222
    Cohn on campus) and Section 990 (online)
Bullet1.gif (242 bytes)Health Concepts and Strategies for Elder Care, GST 1990
   Section 981 (2 credits) and Section 982 (4 credits)


                         Instructor
David R. Bowen
2311 A/AB
Wayne State University
Detroit, MI 48202
Schedule (link not working yet)		 Daytime tel: (313) 577-1498
Evening tel: (248) 549-8518
At Ford: 313-390-2155
FAX: (313) 577-8585
Home Page:
    http://www.cll.wayne.edu/isp/drbowen
Email: d.r.bowen@wayne.edu
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Health - GST 2010		 DoubleH.gif (1069 bytes)
Genetics theme GST2020
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Evolution theme
GST 2020		 Back to course welcome page
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Last updated: 9/19/01

Agenda 2
version for Wednesday September 19
Health Concepts and Strategies, GST 2010
Changing Life on Earth, GST 2020
Attached Directed Study, GST 1990

  1. Announcements
    1. The class scheduled for Wednesday September 12 was canceled due to the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, with a fourth crash (and perhaps others intended or to come). The University will establish a policy for making up the missed work, which will probably be that equivalent extra work should be assigned that will not require extra time in class. When that policy is announced, I will update the syllabi for these courses. For now,
      1. GST 2010 Essay 1 is delayed one week until October 10. Each reading assignment is also delayed one week.
      2. GST 2020 Quiz 1 is delayed one week until October 10. Each reading assignment is also delayed one week.
      3. No changes for the Directed Study, GST 1990
    2. Handouts:
      1. Agenda 2 for Wednesday September 18
      2. Topics for Essay 1 (GST 2010) and Quiz 1 (GST 2020) on opposite sides
      3. Syllabus for GST 1990
    3. We will spend a very brief amount of time at the end of GST 2020, just before the 8:30 break, for GST 1990.
    4. The textbook for GST 2020, Changing Life on Earth, is really packed with information, more information than will be included in the quizzes and exams. My notes under II below detail what will actually be used from this material. The additional material in the textbook is still assigned reading, and will give additional support to the facts and conclusions that are in my notes. The textbook for GST 2010 is different; my notes under III are only a guide to what is in the textbook.
    5. Help is here! I sometimes divide what I do as a teacher into two parts: (i) setting the standards and (ii) helping you meet them. The first part I have done (true, there might be a few adjustments). The second I really cannot do without your help. Let me know if things are not going well for you.
    6. For "onliners" especially: A new computer virus or worm, code-named "nimda" is spreading. Beware of files attached to emails named "readme.exe" although other files may be involved also. Upgrade your virus protection. Nimda started about 9 AM on Tuesday 9/18, and may in fact have been launched exactly one week to the minute after the hijackings of 9/11.
  2. GST 2020, Changing Life on Earth. The reading assignment is Chapters 1 and 2 in Cell Biology and Genetics
    1. Here are two aspects of this course that are relevant to the attacks on US sites of September 11:
      1. The heightened concern that we all feel for each other (everybody is just a little bit nicer, and probably really means, "How are you?" rather than saying it automatically), and the altruism shown by the rescuers (including those who died) and by the outpouring of volunteers, supplies and services from around the country and indeed around the world, may very well be genetic or inherited - part of us from the ground up, something that compels us in times of adversity. Originally, the Theory of Evolution seemed to imply that human existence is solitary and savage, but recently it has been shown that altruism leads to the survival of related genes when times are tough. This is a recent and still controversial area - Sociobiology - but it is clear that this is predicted in a general way by the Theory of Evolution. Specific actions are not predicted, but the impulses to care and to help are.
      2. Arab-Americans are feeling social pressure following the attacks, and there have been some incidents of violence and murder. Within the Theory of Evolution, there is absolutely no evidence for a concept of race or ethnicity that extends beyond relatively trivial external aspects such as skin color, eye shape and similar traits, and there is in fact much evidence against the usefulness of race as an inherited characteristic that explains anything about intelligence (whether measured by IQ or any other method) personality, character or behavior. The concept of race is equivalent to that of "breed" in animals - a German Shepherd as opposed to a Collie, for example. In animals, pedigrees must be protected by the owners, because with the exception of gross differences in size, all dogs can interbreed, and the breed characteristics disappear. All dogs come from a single ancestor, something more or less like a beagle, and their characteristics were bred for by long times in particular human societies, and within the past few centuries, by breeders. But relax that vigilance, and they would all blend into beagles again. With humans, at the beginning of the period of Western exploration and colonization, the differences among humans had been selected by long periods of geographical isolation, and regional differences in skin color, eye shape and similar external characteristics were pronounced, and indeed when people from different regions first saw each other, they were so different that there may have been some excuse for thinking that these others were a different type or species, or at least this is what I have read. But today, with wide travel, so-called racial differences are disappearing rapidly and will certainly disappear within a century or two. The Human Genome project revealed that human beings from around the world share virtually all of their genes - 99.99% or so (I forget exactly how many 9s there are after that decimal point). Biologically we are most certainly one species, one type. English, German, Cuban, Haitian, African, Egyptian, Israeli, Chinese, Korean, Afghani, whatever - we are one.

        Cultural differences do exist, and culture is passed on through families. (In this context, "culture" refers to all of the attitudes, behaviors and customs shared within groups that have geographical basis. Culture does affect ethics and morals and skill sets, but we humans can and do rise above our cultures on a regular basis, or more correctly, we change and adapt our cultures; we are not bound and determined by our cultures the way that many lower animals have their behavior determined genetically. Cultures are not tied to genes (the fact that we have cultures may be genetically determined, but not the content of any culture). Our cultures can make us different, but only if we want that to continue (some aspects of culture can be very slow to change, however).

        And in fact, the overwhelming majority of the Arab-Americans in the US came here to change their culture, to adopt our culture of liberty and self-determination, and were horrified along with the rest of us to see what happened.

        But the concept of race as applied to any group of human being tells us almost nothing of interest about the group, aside from biologically trivial differences in external characteristics, and if present travel trends continue (or eventually resume after the attacks), "race" altogether will disappear.
    2. Chapter 1 - Overview of the course, Concepts and Methods in Biology
      1. Life began 3.8 billion years ago What is life? Capturing and using energy; sensing and responding to environment; reproduction, growth, development, evolution.
      2. Capturing and using energy
        1. Energy = capacity to do work, all life uses it; metabolism is the process that controls its flow
        2. Energy flows (one way) from (sun to) producers to consumers to decomposers
          1. Materials are recycled
        3. Breaking molecular bonds absorbs energy, forming chemical bonds releases energy.
      3. Sensing and responding to change. One example is homeostasis = responding to keep changes within bounds - for example, sweating is caused by temperature increase but controls or reduces temperature.
      4. Reproduction, growth, development
        1. Cell = smallest unit of life - for multicellular organisms, isolated cells need lab conditions to live but they can live and reproduce in a lab environment
        2. DNA is central for all life: DNA ==> RNA ==> protein, proteins are central to life - cells are mostly protein, and proteins also carry out the cell's processes
        3. Species are extremely diverse
        4. Species ==> Genus ==> Family ==> Order ==> Class ==>Phylum ==> Kingdom (at least six) classification still being refined. Some major classes:
          1. Fungi - external digestion, products absorbed
          2. Eukaryotes - DNA inside a nucleus
          3. Animals: herbivores, carnivores, parasites, scavengers
        5. Unity and diversity of life: All life shares basic principles, such as the characteristics of life and the genetic code, but the forms of life (species) are very diverse.
          1. Source of diversity - evolution, mutation, adaptive trait gives an evolutionary advantage
        6. Artificial (breeding) selection Vs natural selection - examples are pigeon breeding and antibiotic resistance
      5. Four principles of evolution
        1. Individuals within a population (species) vary - form, function, behavior - much is heritable
        2. Some heritable traits are more adaptive, some are less
          1. Adaptive = able to leave fertile offspring
        3. Natural selection is the result - adaptive traits increase in proportion
        4. Result is better fit with environment
      6. Science
        1. Experiments - seven steps listed, can have sampling or statistical error
        2. A theory is not a speculation - in science, its predictions have been thoroughly tested
        3. Examples of experiments given
          1. Control variables to focus on one or a few factor(s)
          2. Use objective data (counts, etc.) to reduce possibility of bias
        4. The supernatural is beyond the reach of science, but science has sometimes expanded into area which were once thought to be supernatural - motion of planets, human anatomy
    3. Chapter 2 - Cells and cell chemistry, Chemical foundations for cells.
      Comment: This chapter is very packed with information. Much of the detail is not necessary for understanding of life, and I have tried to separate out the important information below.
      1. Underlying points
        1. Unity of science - Subatomic particles (electron, proton, neutron) ==> atoms ==> molecules ==> cells. Biology, genetics and evolution are not isolated fields of knowledge, but are tightly integrated with many other fields in science. Here, the book shows how biology (cells), chemistry (atoms and molecules) and physics (atoms, electrons, neutrons and protons) are linked together.
        2. Layers of understanding - we understand the chemistry of how cells work, and we understand the chemistry in terms of how the subatomic particles interact. There is a firm scientific basis for biology.
        3. Interplay of inheritance and the environment - Life has adapted to properties of available chemicals, especially water. In a different world, life would have to be different.
      2. Cells depend on chemical reactions for using energy, and for other characteristics - motion, growth and reproduction. Life wouldn't exist without chemistry. (Later, we will go into how proteins regulate cell chemistry, and how DNA regulates proteins. DNA will never have exclusive control, but shares control with the environment. "Environment" here includes the environment inside the cell - the water and other chemicals and processes.)
      3. Structure of matter "*" = look for this later in course
        1. Atoms are the smallest units of ordinary matter. Examples are Carbon (C), Hydrogen (H), Oxygen (O) and Nitrogen (N).
        2. * Molecules are made up of atoms. Examples: O2, N2, H20, CO2. The subscript says how many of that atom are in an individual molecule.
          1. Atoms themselves are made up of protons and neutrons in a core nucleus, with electrons circulating outside. When atoms and/or molecules interact, it is the electrons which interact.
        3. There are different types of bonds that hold atoms in molecules, or hold molecules in clusters. One important type is the *hydrogen bond, a weak but plentiful type. The types of bonds determine whether molecules will stick together or not, and where they will stick.
        4. The number of electrons normally equals the number of protons, and these control the chemical properties. Isotopes have the same numbers of protons and electrons but a different number of neutrons, and so can be used to "mark" or tag chemicals, especially if the isotope is radioactive (*radioisotope)
      4. Based on the numbers of protons and electrons, we can know how molecules will behave. For example, water molecules (H2O) can form many weak hydrogen bonds. This gives water characteristics which are important for life:
        1. Bonds strongly with many "polar" molecules (for example sugars and salts) - they dissolve in water. (Polar molecules are atoms bonded together so that one almost completely steals one or more electrons from the other.) Thus, these molecules can be transported using water inside the cell or between cells. Almost all chemical reactions in cells occur in water.
        2. Repels other "non-polar" molecules such as oils. Inside the cell, hydrophobic molecules concentrate in a thin layer, and so are able to react with each other more efficiently.
        3. Water can absorb much energy without raising its temperature, by breaking the hydrogen bonds between water molecules.
        4. Bonds between water molecules result in surface tension that insects can use to float. These bonds can also dissolve molecules and transport them.
      5. The continuum from acid or acidity to base or alkalinity is important for life also.
        1. Strong acids and bases are harmful or fatal to life
        2. Weaker acids and bases are important for life. For example, the release of stomach acids following chewing and swallowing activate the enzymes with digest the food.
        3. The pH scale describes the acidity or alkalinity
          1. pH 7 is neutral - neither. The fluid inside cells has a pH close to 7.
          2. Higher than 7 is alkaline, up to 14 maximum. Cells are bathed in fluids that are slightly alkaline.
          3. Lower than 7 is acidic, down to 0 minimum.
        4. Cells also have many buffering systems, which control the pH of a mixture.
        5. Acidity and alkalinity are determined by the concentration or percentage of H+ ions. High concentrations are acidic while low concentrations are alkaline
      6. Other types of atoms that are important for life are also released in water. Salts release these in solution. Examples:
        1. Sodium, Na. Important for nerve activity.
        2. Potassium, K
        3. Calcium, Ca
    4. Chapter 3: Carbon Compounds in Cells. How cells put carbon compounds together, use them, and effects. the big picture is that carbon compounds, especially proteins, play central roles in cellular life, and these often large molecules are assembled out of smaller building blocks.
      1. Only living cells make carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids. Living cells have lots of C, H and O - much of H and O is water - remove water and half of what is left is C.
      2. These cells have a carbon backbone - four covalent bonds per carbon atom, can link back into a ring of six carbon atoms
        1. Organic molecules require smaller building blocks, sunlight (energy) and enzymes (speed up reactions)
        2. Monomers (a single subunit) are assembled into polymers - hundreds or thousands of units long
      3. Carbohydrates - (CH2O)n
        1. Monosaccharides.
        2. Polysaccharides. Cellulose, starch, glycogen are most common polysaccharides - cellulose is a structural fiber in plant cell walls. The different structures account for different properties- cellulose hard to digest, starch easy. Glycogen is sugar store for animals, especially stored in liver and muscle, broken down into glucose for energy. Chitin is tough exoskeleton material also polysaccharides with nitrogen groups
      4. Lipids: fatty, oily. Energy, structure (membranes, surfaces), signaling
        1. Saturated Vs unsaturated - double bonds are unsaturated - all bonds with H are saturated
        2. Triglycerides rich in energy, twice as much as carbohydrates
      5. Proteins - most diverse
        1. Chain of amino acids - 20 different kinds. Examples:
          1. Lysine, lys
          2. Phenylalanine, phe
          3. Cytosine, cyt
        2. Types: enzymes, structural, transport, energy and nutrition, regulatory (hormones etc.)
        3. order of bases determined by DNA
        4. Shapes are important, arise from primary structure - sequence of amino acids
          1. Different levels of structure
        5. Denaturation by heat - breaking hydrogen bonds, changing shape
      6. Nucleotides are involved in metabolism - ATP, also coenzymes, messengers
        1. DNA - ordering of bases - A, C, G, T - double-stranded
        2. RNA - A, C, G, U - single-stranded
  3. GST 1990
    1. From Core Concepts in Health, pg 324: "If you optimize wellness during young adulthood, you can exert great control over the physical and mental aspects of aging, and you can better handle your response to events that might be out of your control."
    2. Review of syllabus
    3. New York Times Science Section (Science Times) for today (9/18) has interview with Christine Cassel, author of the common book, The Practical Guide to Aging." Cassel says that she enjoys being around older people - they remind you of the value of patience and life experience. Cassel is a geriatrician - a doctor certified inc are of the elderly. We are not training enough geriatricians. Most doctors are not aware that for most of them, most of their patients will be elderly. The reason that we have so many elderly and health problems for the elderly is that we are not dying young any more. In one month, three Cassel expects aging baby boomers to revolutionize old age as they have revolutionzied the rest of society. For example, in a single recent month, three major women's magazines had cover stories on glamorous aging women.
    4. New book on alzheimer's: The Loss of Self: A Family Resource for the Care of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders, by Dr. Donna Cohen and Dr. Carl Eisdorfer, pub W.W. Norton
  4. GST 2010, Health Concepts and Strategies. The reading assignment is Chapter 1 in Core Concepts in Health
    1. Here are two aspects of this course that are relevant to the attacks on US sites of September 11:
      1. Stress comes with hard times, and excessive stress can degrade our health. But there are ways of dealing with stress. A very good one in this case is to take some kind of action. Make a donation, give blood, express support. Anything that gives you some control or influence on the situation will help you avoid the harmful effects.
      2. We all need intimate relationships with other people (Chapter 4). So strengthen your bonds with your loved ones - children especially are vulnerable, contact that old friend and catch up, say hello to someone you might have been avoiding. And by the way, "hello" from me to you.
    2. Wellness. Health has traditionally meant the absences of disease. But wellness is expanded idea of health - a positive condition (presence of wellness) rather than a negative one (absence of disease). Wellness includes health, and is the focus of this course.
      1. Six dimensions of wellness:
        1. Physical
        2. Emotional
        3. Intellectual
        4. Spiritual
        5. Interpersonal & social
        6. Environmental
      2. Wellness is a relatively new concept.
    3. "History of health," briefly
      1. Early humans had problems of basic nutrition, medical knowledge and care lacking - hunting large animals and childbirth without safe and germ-free surroundings, are definitely unsafe and undoubtedly resulted in many early deaths, together with the deadly effects of the simplest diseases such as fever and flu, without medical care. No wonder that life expectancy was short, but we have very little information on just how short.
      2. Then improved safety, injury. We raised animals, so we didn't need to hunt them down in the wild and fight them.
      3. Then infectious diseases (we "catch" a cold) were largely conquered, culminating in the vaccines of the early 20th century - cures first, then prevention
      4. Now causes of death are lifestyle - we can cure, not always well, but not prevent. (Doubtless this will improve in the future - this course could be very different in the next ten to fifteen years.)
    4. Lifestyle health factors:
      1. Genetic and cultural
      2. Leading lifestyle factors:
        1. Diet
        2. Inactivity
        3. Smoking
        4. Alcohol
      3. Other non-lifestyle factors in health
        1. Gender
        2. Age
        3. Ethnicity (every ethnic group has its own risk factors)
        4. Income and education (both higher income and higher educational levels are associated with higher health levels. Interestingly, higher educational levels may be even more important than income)
        5. Disability
        6. Location
        7. Sexual orientation
    5. Factors for wellness:
      1. Sense of responsibility for own health
      2. Manage stress
      3. Self esteem and healthy interactions with others
      4. Satisfying intimate relationships
      5. Avoiding tobacco and other drugs, using alcohol in moderation
      6. Diet, exercise, weight control
      7. Knowing about major risks and protecting yourself
      8. Using health care system well
      9. Knowing about illness and dying
      10. Working to improve environmental health
    6. Steps in becoming healthier:
      1. Targeting specific factors, one at a time
      2. Knowledge and help
      3. Motivating yourself, short term and long term
      4. Where is your locus of control - who is in charge for you?
      5. Visualize success
      6. Find role models
      7. Identify barriers
      8. Set a baseline
      9. Identify patterns of unhealthy actions
      10. Set specific realistic goals
      11. Develop a plan of action
        1. Obtain information and resources
        2. Change you environment (One detail for me was, when I needed to limit the amount of orange juice I drink with breakfast, was finding smaller glasses, so I didn't have to be so conscious of sacrificing! But - everyone is different - be creative!)
        3. Reward yourself. (Yes! For example, I love windsurfing - standing on a surfboard with a sail. I treated myself to some new equipment this summer, and I justified it to my family as being exercise!)
        4. Involve the people around you (My family is very supportive, and this is a great help to me.)
        5. Plan ahead for challenging situations. (I almost always carry extra food healthy for diabetics. I see diabetics around me not planning ahead, and using the food machines for snacks. Do they unconsciously do this on purpose?)
      12. Sign a contract
      13. Take stock regularly
      14. Success will improve your motivation

      Instructor's comment: I recently made improvements to my health, after I was diagnosed with diabetes (it took this major illness to get my attention!). I did not use all of these steps, but I can testify that many of these worked for me. But there are four additional points I would like to add:

      1. Know yourself, and make the changes that are easiest for you first.
      2. Think "redirection" rather than "sacrifice". Sacrifices are very difficult to maintain over the long haul. But redirection means getting the same things that you crave now, just in a different way.
      3. A good first project is something that others will notice. For me, I lost weight. People that knew me before comment and compliment me all the time. I love it! Controlling stress or smoking could do the same for you.
      4. Everyone is different! Don't copy others, at least if it doesn't work. Find what works for you.
    7. Chapter 2 - stress
      1. What is stress?
        1. Two aspects - external even and reaction - stressor and stress response
        2. Response comes from two systems - nervous system and endocrine system
          1. Nervous system - autonomic (automatic) sympathetic. Nervous system prompts release of a chain of hormones
          2. Endocrine system - hormones - travel throughout body in blood, have effect at specific sites
      2. Effects of stress: sharper vision, dilation of bronchi, faster heart rate, higher blood pressure, liver releases sugar, endorphins to relieve pain - fight-or-flight reaction. After stressor removed, parasympathetic nervous system takes over from sympathetic, halts reaction.
        1. Fight-or-flight was adaptive, often is not now. Our reaction to stress is critical - this is what triggers the effects - some of our reaction is involuntary.
          1. Type A & Type B personalities
          2. Hardy personalities - doing what they are committed to, in control
          3. Other factors - ethnic, gender, past
        2. Long-term damage to body if chronic
          1. Specific diseases - cardiovascular, immune depression, many smaller e.g. migraines
      3. Sources of stress. Major life changes, daily hassles (all worsened by feeling of being out of control). College, Job, Social
      4. Coping with stress
        1. Being healthy in general - supportive relationships, nutrition, sleep, exercise
        2. Time management - goals, priorities, so no - take a textbook to the doctor's office!
        3. Take control
        4. Be realistic about yourself and others, don't expect too much
        5. Humor
        6. Being positive
        7. (Bowen: Just say"I am stressed now", accompany with a deep breath)
        8. Specific techniques described
      5. Counter productive - eating, tobacco, drugs and alcohol - these treat the symptoms, not the underlying condition
      6. Recognize it if you need help, and get it