q7

After a year in NUS, I find that writing essay is a very difficult process for me. I think one of the reasons why I have difficulty writing essay is the lack of practice. When I am writing essay, I tend to encounter the problem of converting my thoughts and ideas into words. As a result, I would attempt to rewrite the sentence numerous times to fit the context of the essay. I find that the reason why I frequently encounter this problem is because of my poor language skill. The way for me to improve is to actually write more essay to bring my ideas across in words. Another difficulty I face is during planning process, I do not have a lot of points to elaborate on my ideas. What I would normally do is to spend more time researching and gathering more suggestions from the internet.
I think that planning process is one the most important part of writing an essay. In order to ensure that I have sufficient ideas to support my point, I would also do mind mapping to generate more points to be used in my essay. Another major that I faced is there are a lot of grammar mistakes in my essay. I feel that correcting grammar mistakes is one of the most difficult tasks for me. To the number of grammar mistakes, I would check my essay carefully when I am writing. I also tend to avoid writing too long sentences so that it would be much easier to bring my points across. I find that reading newspaper can help me improve my essay as a whole. The information that I can find in the newspaper would provide me more ideas when I am writing essay. Currently, I would spend some time in the morning reading the news. I would also take note of the mistakes I made in my writing assignment so that I would not commit the same error.

q6

One of my most common grammar errors is the usage of article. Articles can be categorized into definite article and indefinite articles. ‘The’ is a definite article and is used when we want to refer to something or someone specific. For example: The girl was very happy. (We are referring to a very specific girl).‘The’ is also used before certain proper nouns. Words like “Pan-Island Expressway” and “Dark Ages” all requires “the” in front. One of the errors common errors I encounter is that is that am not sure when I should omit an article. Article should not be used when we are referring to general statement or when a plural countable noun is non specific.
Wrong: Embryos should not be considered a human.
Correct: Embryos should not be considered human.
Generally, a/an is used when we are referring to a non specific, single and countable noun.

Another common error is subject verb agreement. My mistake usually involves the head word not agreeing with of a noun phrase.
Wrong: Animal testing in stem cell research have proven to be successful.
Correct: Animal testing in stem cell research has proven to be successful. (Animal testing is singular)
In addition, singular verb should be used for uncountable nouns. We also use singular verb when we are referring to a collective group (Example: Government and Sport Team are both singular noun).

The third mistake that I commonly made is incorrect use of quantifiers for uncountable nouns. I often used the wrong quantifiers to describe uncountable noun. For example, words like resistance and criticism are uncountable. Quantifiers like ‘much’, ‘a little’ ‘a bit’ is used to describe uncountable nouns.
Wrong: numerous resistances
Correct: much resistance
Wrong: many criticisms
Correct: much criticism

Q5

During the roundtable discussion, one of the group discussed a topic regarding computational modeling in brain studies. This particular research hopes to give a clearer understanding on how our brain works. The group discussed various advantages and disadvantages this technology can bring to us and also gave reasons to support why the government should not restrict this research.
The supporting members of the group argued that the brain scan can provide people who cannot express themselves the ability to communicate with their family or friends. It can be used to identity suspects who are potential terrorists. The supporting members also said that government should not imposed restrictions on this technology because it will curb and limit the growth of the research. However, the opposing member of the group argued that this technology can leads to discrimination. For example, employers may use this technology to screen potential employees before employing them. This can be considered an invasion of people privacy.
I feel that this technology can is very promising. However, I feel that government should place restrictions on this technology. This technology can cause other problems if it is not carefully regulated. We have to make sure that this technology is put to the right use.
Another topic that was discussed by another group was on green chemistry. The group argued that Singapore should lead her counterparts in the region and focus on green chemistry. Green chemistry encourages the processing of products that are safer to our environment. However, the opposing team argued that Singapore should seek advices from other successful nations before venturing into this technology. I feel that green chemistry is an industry that would be successful in the future. This is because currently, there have been increasing amount of funding provided to develop alternative ways of processing and design material in a way that does not cause pollution.
The last group discussed about hybrid electric cars. Supporting members of the group argued that hybrid cars are less environmental polluting and better fuel economy than conventional petrol powered cars. Furthermore, hybrid cars tend to create much lower noise pollution. However, opponents of the group argued that these types of car are still very expensive. The general public would not be willing to spend money on this car.

Q4

E-Portfolio q4)
Nickerson.C. (2007, June 7). Studies cite new process for stem cells. The Boston Globe.. Retrieved March 08, 2008,from http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/diseases/articles/2007/06/07/studies_cite_new_process_for_stem_cells/

The first article is about a new way of making stem cells that is much safer than conventional methods. The scientists that discover this method are able to use ordinary skin cells and transformed them to act like embryonic stem cells. This is a major breakthrough because no embryos are destroyed. Although this method is achieved using mice skins, the scientists believe that this new techniques can help loosen federal funding on stem cell research in United States. In addition, this can path a more exciting road in stem cell biology.

In addition, this article also mentioned about using fertilized eggs to clone embryonic cells. This suggests a possibility of using defective fertilized eggs that can increase the supply of embryonic cells. However, reprogrammed cells required the use of virus to activate the genes which increase the chances of the cells mutating which cause cancer. This first research can help to address issues regarding the ethnics of stem cell research since no embryos are destroyed during the process.

Evaluation.
This article is useful in showing us the progress that scientists are making regarding in stem cells research. There have been issues regarding the ethnics of stem cells cloning and this new method of making embryonic cells can help to address the criticism. As mentioned in the article, it is encouraging to see scientists that are addressing the ethical concerns in this field.



Shute.N.(2009, January 23 ). 3 Ways That Stem Cells May Speed New Cures.US News. Retrieved March 08, 2008, from http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/2009/01/23/3-ways-that-stem-cells-may-speed-new-cures.html

The approval of human testing of stem cells to repair spinal cord injury may help to speed up progress in the field of stem cell biology and therapeutic cloning in the United State. The potential of embryonic cells is very great and can be in many areas in science. Scientists are trying to use stem cells in a few ways. For example, Scientists are trying to grow human cells in labs to test the effectiveness of certain drugs. Scientists are also developing stem cell treatments for heart disease and diabetes. The approval human testing of stem cells are also an indication for more close cooperation between different laboratories in the future. In 2007, Rudolph Jaenisch, a researcher at the Whitehead Institute in Cambridge, managed to create induced pluripotent stem cells. IPS cells can be implanted into a patients and the chance of body rejecting the cells would be small. This is because the cells are growth from the patients themselves.

Evaluation
This article is useful in showing us the United States government starting to be more open in using stem cell cloning for certain treatments. The recent advancement can show us the possibility that in the future we are able to cure Parkinson's, and other diseases.

Definitions

Embryonic stem cells
Mammalian embryonic stem (ES) cells have the special property of being able to differentiate into virtually every cell type. Because ES cells can be genetically manipulated in vitro and can be transplanted into embryos and adults, they are a powerful tool in biological experiments and hold promise for future medical therapies.

Induced pluripotent stem cells
Induced pluripotent stem cells[1], commonly abbreviated as iPS cells or iPSCs, are a type of pluripotent stem cell artificially derived from a non-pluripotent cell, typically an adult somatic cell, by inducing a "forced" expression of certain genes.

Progenitor cells
Like stem cells, progenitor cells have a capacity to differentiate into a specific type of cell.[1] In contrast to stem cells, however, they are already far more specific than stem cells: they are pushed to differentiate into their "target" cell. Controversy about the exact definition remains and the concept is still evolving.
Despite the difficulty of defining progenitors, the term is frequently used in research. Thus, the importance of progenitors cannot be ignored.
The terms "progenitor cell" and "stem cell" are sometimes equated.

Therapeutic cloning
A type of cloning with the goal of harvesting embryonic stem cells from the resulting blastula to grow tissues and other biological products with therapeutic value. (See clone; compare reproductive cloning.)

Tay-Sachs disease
Tay-Sachs disease is a deadly disease passed down through families that causes damage to the nervous system.

Post 3

The first lecturer was presented by Professor Andrew Palmer talks about his view regarding Co2 emissions in the world. He mention that the Co2 emissions have been increasing rapidly especially during the recent few decades. The Co2 emissions have increase from 275 parts per million in 19750 to about 400 parts per million in 2000. He mentioned about what are that measures that can be taken to prevent Co2 concentration from escalating to an even higher level. In order to take effective measure to solve this problem, we need to accept the world that we would not like to be. We need to cut down a lot on the usage of electricity and cars this would be a huge change in the lifestyle we have now. There is a need for large scale actions to restrict the Co2 emissions from factories and our automobiles. We need to capture Co2 and develop more fuel efficiency devices. We can capture Co2 from the surface and store Co2 under the oceans. However, there is a need for more plants to store Co2 to combat climate change. In the lecture, he also mentioned can manipulate the Earth climate through geoengineering. For example, we can manually release So2 into our atmosphere to screen the earth from the sun. The huge release of So2 in Mount Pinatubo during eruption caused global temperatures dropped by about 0.5.What I found interesting was that Co2 can be store in the sea. The release of So2 into the atmosphere into the atmosphere can reduce the temperature of the earth but I doubt this would work because it would cause more acid rain.
The second lecturer talked about how technology is dictates by social progression and change. The reason why renewable energy is still not widely adopted by people is because most people are ignorant about new technology. The returns in investment in renewable energy are lower much than conventional energy. People are not willing to adopt it because of the higher cost. There is also a lack in government funding in certain parts of the world to research in renewable energy sources. The case study on electrical cars shows fully illustrated how people adapt to technology. In order for a particular technology to be adopted by people, it has to be cheap for the people to adopt. If alternative energy can be made cheaper, I believe more people will use it.
The third lecturer Pofessor Bala talked about climate change. He mentioned about the rise in Co2 concentration in the recent decades and what can the government and people do to play a part in combating climate change. He mentioned that the rise in Co2 will results in devastated consequences. The melting of ice cap will cause the sea level to rise and extinction and even hurricanes. It would cause extreme weather conditions in different parts of the world. We can do to play a part is not waste electricity and take more public transports. We should not buy products that can indirectly contribute to climate change. We need to change our lifestyle to save Mother earth.
Many nature disaster have happened recently may be a sign that the global climate change has taken a toll on our planet that we lived it. Politicians are not doing enough to combat rising climate. Countries are more interested in their own economy than the environment. This is because we are living in a highly competitive world. United States, the world highest amount of Co2 emitter, is not willing to aggressively cut down on Co2 emissions because it is afraid it would lose out to China and India. I feel that unless there is a global effort to stop climate changes, this problems will continue to escalate and will cause our future generations to suffer.

tutorial 2

Singapore green efforts to promote to the quality of our environment can trace back to 1970s. One of the attractive points that cause tourists from other countries flocks into Singapore is the clean and green environment of our country. Our government has constantly implement measures that help to sustain make Singapore a better environment to live in. The Green Plan, which was implemented in 1992, served to achieve environment sustainability. The Plan was reviewed in 1995 to keep up with the current standards.

The focus of the Green plan is on clean air, clean water and clean land. Singapore government has pump in money to focus and developing more efficient catalytic converter to be used in cars and factories. As Singapore has a limited land space, we do not have the luxury to set up factories that are far away form housing estate. Singapore government has implement laws that prevent factories from dumping their wastage into rivers. In addition, our government is spending more money to develop alternative energy resources. Furthermore, in order to encourage more people to used alternative fuels, rebates where given to car buyers that bought cars that were powered by natural gas. Annual events such as the Clean and Green encourage people to reduce, reuse and recycle. Television advertisements are constantly being played regularly to remind Singaporeans to save electricity and water.

Although there are such measures being implanted by our government, however I feel that there are more to be done. Singapore signed the Kyoto Protocol climate treaty in 1996 under the non-Annex I countries. Singapore can be considered as a developed country. By signing under non-Annex I countries means that it is restricting its emission for a developing country status. Despite Singapore Co2 emissions is 0.2% of the total emissions, the Co2 emissions per capital is 12.2% in 2004. This is considered to be quite high for such a small country. The reason for this may be because Singapore is still a very competitive society and the focus on is more on our economy than on our environment. In fact, this is the case for a lot of countries around our world. There should be more cooperative work between different countries to work on sustaining our environments before it is too late.

tutorial 1

An engineer can accomplishes through the training provided by various educational institutions that enable the future engineers to think and solve complex problems in a systematic way. As the complexity of the world increases, there is a need for more talents to be able to manipulate and process large amount of information in a systematic way. There are many companies seeking for engineers to work in different fields that require to handle large amount of information and data.
Engineers are taught to solve a wide variety of problems in their tertiary education. For example, engineers are compulsory to study programming during their first year of study. When an engineer solves a computing problem, he needs to divide the functions of the program to different parts so as to make it easier to tackle the computer problem. The engineers have to the find out the algorithms of a particular computer problem that forced the programmer to think in a systemic way. Most computer problems are complex in nature and need the programmer to think work step by step and analyses the problem using different techniques. Solving computer problems will train engineers think analytically and systematically.
In addition, students studying engineering are taught how to work together in a team. Many of the complex problems requires a specialize team to work together effective. The team may consist of people from different backgrounds and cultures. There are trainings and opportunities provided by Singapore tertiary institutions to train their students to work as a team. Groups are allocated in such a way that student can interact with people from different nationality. In addition, students are encouraged to join leadership camps that teach them how to lead a team and work together effectively. Complex information needs to be broken down into different parts to solve together with their teammates.