Explanatory synthesis(read the prompt) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Explanatory synthesis(read the prompt) - Essay Example The recently proposed or established acts like the Homeland Security Act, the USA Patriot Act, and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act etc have initiated hot debate. Many people consider that national security should be placed above privacy of individuals, ignoring the fact that after that America is slowly being converted into a police state. However, civil privacy and personal rights are much more important and the Government must focus on enhancing security without compromising with the privacy of the common man. The fear of being attacked again, the continuous security breaching threats have put America under immense pressure and made it more vigilant, such that the Government is pulling all stops to convert the country into a total surveillance state. Most state authorities now employ cameras to keep a track of things and snoop on its citizens. I believe that this is in fact not fair at all, because such surveillance cannot only be abused but also can give false results. C hristian Parenti in the article DC Virtual Panopticon, discusses on the issue and reveals how the â€Å"police in Detroit and DC have used CCTV to stalk personal foes, political opponents and young women† which in itself is a threat to the security of citizens. Another much publicized electronic surveillance instrument- the facial recognition system is not close to what had been promised. In â€Å"trading liberty for Illusion†, Wendy Kaminer informs us that the facial recognition system used â€Å"never identified a single individual contained in the department’s database of photographs.† Some may have the opinion that electronic surveillance are an efficient method to keep track of potential threats but time and again the system has failed and the surveillance cameras have been used not for the purpose of security at all. Another crucial point about such electronic surveillance is that the chances of the camera operators keeping eye on minority civilians only rather than focusing on everyone with equal vigilance is increased. Wendy Kaminer said that it is a true fact that the security officers are bound to   Ã¢â‚¬Å"focus disproportionately on racial minorities or while away the hours peering up women's skirts†. Therefore, it is clear that even though electronic surveillance have been supposedly adopted and installed as a national security measure and keep the citizens from any harm. Yet, the ways in which the system is being abused by the security officers themselves establishes the fact that such technological measures that have been adopted are in no way enhancing security but are successfully destroying the freedom of the civilians. A similar breach of civilian privacy is the tapping of phone lines. The USA patriot Act brought in the use of wiretap warrants that allowed the USA police to engage in wiretap surveillance against anyone who was under suspicion. Therefore the Government could easily intercept the electronic c ommunication of just about anyone they liked. Though the electronic Communications Privacy Act was brought into force to safeguard the citizens from such interceptions, the ACT did have loopholes. However, many people like Joshua Quittner, believe that a little loss of privacy is not a high price for security and that most people are too paranoid about their privacy. In the article â€Å"Invasion of Privacy†, Joshua Quittner wrote that at first he couldn’t â€Å"get worked up about privacy: my right to it; how it's dying; how we're headed for an even more wired, under

DNA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

DNA - Essay Example Production of gametes through meiosis A basic tenet of embryology is the fusion of a male and a female gamete in the process called fertilization. The gametes are haploid cells that are produced in the testes and ovaries of the father and mother, respectively. They are produced in a cell division process called meiosis. This process is special because each of the resulting daughter cells contains just half of the chromosomes of the parent cell. In effect, a child receives 50% of each of the parent’s genetic material. Briefly, it involves two major processes, Meiosis I and then II, each composed of the usual processes of (1) prophase that prepares for (2) metaphase, in which the chromosomes meet in the middle, (3) anaphase, whereby the chromosomes separate and go to two opposite ends of the dividing cell, and (4) telophase, in which the cell membranes separate to ultimately produce the daughter cells. Initially, the gonium is a diploid cell (chromosome number (n) = 46) with rep licated chromosomes in the form of sister chromatids. After Meiosis I, the daughter cells are already haploid (n = 23), because what is separated during Anaphase I are the pairings of homologous chromosomes. Each chromosome carries genes for specific traits, and each chromosome of a homologous pair thus carries an allele per trait. In contrast, during Anaphase II, the sister chromatids separate, producing haploid cells with unreplicated chromosomes. Ideally, 4 daughter cells are produced per meiosis of a –gonium, and this is what happens in the production of sperm cells. However, in the case of female gamete formation, 2 daughter cells (1 from meiosis I and 1 from meiosis II), only 1 oocyte is produced from a cycle of meiosis (Campbell and Reece, 2002). DNA replication occurs in preparation for cell division How does DNA replicate? A part of the double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) unwinds, allowing DNA polymerase and DNA ligase to get into what is known as the replication bubble. The DNA polymerase adds the complement of each nucleotide in the parent strand, completing the whole length of the strands to produce two semi-conservative dsDNA, each composed of a parent strand and a daughter strand. Eventually, these two identical dsDNA, takes the form of sister chromatids, which are separated during mitosis, the somatic cell replication. The resulting daughter cells thus get identical copies of DNA, which is an exact match to the parent cell (Campbell and Reece, 2002). DNA is the genetic code that directs all cellular function Why is it necessary for each cell to bear DNA? The DNA, housed in the nucleus, is the template to produce messenger RNA (mRNA) through a process called transcription. In this process, a transcription factor recognizes the TATA sequence 25 nucleotides upstream from the transcriptional start point. This initiates the binding of RNA polymerase II to the DNA, and binding of additional transcriptional factors, opening up the double strand to produ ce the pre-RNA strand from 5’ to 3’. The pre-mRNA then peels off from the DNA template, and it complete detaches hundreds of nucleotides after reaching the terminating AAUAAA sequence. This undergoes further