The URL for my story is- http://www.cnn.com/2009/living/02/04/trillion.dollars/
The national debt has been slowly rising over the years since George Bush was elected president. Recently however, it has sky rocketed to over 10 trillion dollars. If you spent 1 million dollars a day since Jesus was born, that would only be around three quarters of a trillion dollars. The question is how are we going to pay off this debt? The gross domestic product of America is 14 trillion dollars, so we are still ahead of the debt, but the debt is still going to fall on the tax payers of our generation.
My two questions are: What should Barack Obama do about the issue? What are the people of America going to have to do?
In recent news embryonic stem cell trials have gotten approval. This trial will allow for stem cell trials to be tested on humans who have paralysis to possibly reverse the effect. Geron Corp. in Menlo Park, Cali., a biotechnology company has gotten the okay to start testing 10 patients with spinal cord injuries. This has been a debatable subject because the tests include using human embryos. Bush signed off saying that studying this will not include killing human lives, even though the embryos would be thrown out anyway for not being used. Obama has the power to override Bush's restrictions or atleast relax them. The scientists believe that an embryonic stem cell can develop and chnage to any human body. In animal research the cells literally repair the damage cells.
The procedure will be affordable, but can only be done within two weeks of the paralysis. The tests will show if this will even have an effect, such as movement or even feeling in the lower body. The results will not be shown over night but will possibly be seen over a period of weeks or months with physical therapy.
Why have there been political debacles over this issue for years especially with Bush?
What does this news show us about scientific pregression?
On February 7, 2009, 150 people were stranded on lake Erie. This happened after a change in the weather that brought warm weather and high winds. The warm weather caused the ice to crack and break away, stranding fisherman and others on the ice. This insident will end up costing the tax payers a fortune becuase the people were rescued by helicopters, and coast guard boats.
This article is significant to me because i was surprised that people would still risk their lives to go out onto the ice after warm temperatures melted some of it making it unsafe.
1. why do you think these people decided to go onto the ice that they knew wasn't safe? 2. Do you think its fair that the tax payers have to pay for the rescue of the hundred people?
University of California, Berkeley presented their latest development in cyborg beetles at the MEMS 2009 academic conference taking place in Sorrento, Italy. The rhinoceros beetles can carry the weight of the electronic equipment on their back which is connected via electrodes to their brains and muscles. This controls the basic movements of their wings and some other appendages. The beetles are controlled by a remote attached to a laptop on which commands can be delivered.
