Response to the Movie- October Sky

In the movie, October Sky, Homer Hickam and other charaters showed many charater traits that include in our charater education list (cooperation, assertion, respect, empathy,and self- control). Cooperation basically means to work together as a team. Hikam's friends show cooperation towards Hikam by helping him to build a rocket. The definition of assertion is to be determind. Homer Hikam shows assertion by being determind to build a rocket proving to people that he could do something else in life other than coal mining. The meaning of respect is to honor someone. Hickam showed respect to Miss Riley (his teacher) by naming one of his award-wining rockets after her since Miss Riley encourage and inspired Hickam to build a rocket. The trait empathy means to look at the other person's perspective or "to go into someone's shoes". Hickam's mother shows empathy by going to her father and telling him to stop the protesting of banning rockets since she understands what her son's is going through in Indiannapolis. The definition of self-control is to have power over your actions. Unfortunetly, Hickam's father did not show self-control. After Hickam announced that he will make a rocket, his father got angry and yelled at him because his father wanted Homer Hickam to follow his footstep and to work in the mines, digging for coal. Overall, Hickam showed these charater traits in the movie which inspired many people into reaching their goals.

Response Blog- Cystic Fibrosis

In skater 121296's blog, the Cystic Fibrosis sounds very harmful. I feel that more cures should be made. Especially for the young teenagers and children who have this disease. Even after getting new treatments for this disease, the life span is still short (which is only until their 30' and 40's). Some side effects that this disease causes are very salty tasting skin, persistent coughing, wheezing or shortness of breath and poor growth. If more cures are made, then that could impact the population today.

Sickle Cell Anemia

         The sickle cell anemia disease was discovered in 1910. It's an inheritated life long disease and people who have it are born with it. The treatment for this disease is to do a bone marrow transplant. Sickle cells take 10-20 days to die. Millions of people worldwide die from this disease. Some parts of the world that are effected by this disease are in India, Africa, Greece, South America, Turkey, Central America, and Italy. The genes that causes the disease in the molecular level are mutated. The result come from the mutation of one amino acid. To develop new treatments for this disease is to increase the research on folic acid and intravenous hydration so that there will be more knowledge about how to cure the sickle cell disease. 

What I feel about this disease is that if scientists finds more cures for this disease then that would impact the population today. Doing a bone marrow transplant could cost a significant amount of money. Other cures such as medication can be very affordable. The fact that was surprising to me was that sickle cells die in 10-20 days. I thought that sickle cell were life long disease.

Websites: www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health