Violation of Human Rights in Armenia

On March 1, 2008, police clashed with protesters in downtown Yerevan, demonstrating against disputed results of the presidential election. In several episodes in different parts of the city, police variously set upon protesters without warning or resistance, negotiated, withdrew, and returned to the offensive and finally fought a pitched battle with a small group of protesters. As a result, at least 10 people died - eight protesters and two police officers - and scores were injured.
While the Armenian authorities have investigated, prosecuted, and convicted dozens of opposition members, sometimes in flawed and politically motivated trials, in connection with the demonstration and violence, they have not prosecuted a single representative of the law enforcement agencies for excessive use of force.
Serj Sargsyan, the prime minister, was declared the winner of the February 19, 2008, presidential election over the opposition candidate, Levon Ter-Petrossian. A group of protesters contending that Sargsyan's victory was the result of fraud established a continuous protest on Yerevan's Freedom Square immediately after the election, with daily rallies; some camped out overnight in tents set up on the square.
Human Rights Watch research indicated that police used excessive force in a pre-dawn raid on the tents on March 1, justified as a search for weapons. This led to a much larger demonstration in front of the French Embassy in downtown Yerevan. By evening, with a major, violent confrontation unfolding on the streets of the capital, the outgoing president, Robert Kocharyan, declared a 20-day state of emergency during which public gatherings and strikes were banned and media freedoms were significantly curtailed.
"The authorities' response to the March 1 events has been one-sided," said Gogia. "The fact that police were themselves under attack at times by no means excuses them for incidents when they used excessive force."
The report also documents ill-treatment of detainees and other violations of due process rights following the March 1 events. Human Rights Watch spoke to people who had been beaten during arrest, and assaulted, verbally abused, and threatened while in police custody. Many detainees were denied the right to inform their families of their whereabouts, and were refused access to lawyers of their own choosing.
Human Rights Watch urged the government to investigate the use of police force in the March 1 clashes, emphasizing that each distinct police action during the day should be assessed separately. Where there was evidence that the use of force went outside the boundaries of legitimate policing, all the perpetrators (including those who gave the orders) should be prosecuted. Human Rights Watch also urged an investigation into all allegations of ill-treatment of people detained in connection with March 1 events, also leading to identification and prosecution of those responsible.

Sickle Cells Anemia

Introduction

Sickle Cell Anemia belongs to a group of hereditary blood disorders called hemoglobinopathies, characterized by the abnormal production of hemoglobin (red blood cell protein which contains iron and transports oxygen to the entire organism). The severity of the disease is diverse but invariably leads to anemia therefore; this may cause that the patient have some of the anemia symptoms such as fatigue, shortness of breath, delayed knowledge and tachycardia. As time passes by, people who have sickle cell anemia develop an aplastic crisis in which blood circulation is full of sickle cells (abnormal red blood cells) which block the small blood vessels and prevent that the blood flows to the organs; kidneys, lungs, heart and joints could be permanently affected. In extreme cases the patient may die at a young age because of renal or respiratory failures or by a cardiovascular accident. Sickle Cells Anemia can occur in different ethnic groups but the one that is more affected is the African group. This fact may be related to malaria. It´s been discovered that people who has sickle cells disease is relatively immune to the parasites that produce malaria. For a child to develop the sickle cells anemia he/she must inherit the gene from both parents. The ones who inherit just one gene became carriers of the disease and can transmit it to the next generation.

Reader´s Digest: Remedios, Curaciones y Tratamientos Médicos pg.78

Sickle Cells Anemia

Biology is the study of living things; therefore, one of its study objectives is DNA and how information of two organisms can be combined into one new organism containing information of both parents. Sickle Cells Disease is all about inherit and when both parents have the mutant gene it goes directly to their child. This disease can be only transmitted genetically. Sickle Cells anemia has been an object of study and research lately and some of the sciences that are in charge of its study are chemistry, studies matter and changes it undergoes in this case would be the red blood cells; computer science is used to gather data of the people affected and the technology of revising the progress and possible solutions to stop the transmission of the disease; ethics study why people affected can´t get married and taken apart from the chances of having a baby, also the fact that babies are “created” so they won´t have the disease. Mathematics measure the quantity of people with sickle cells anemia and the increasing or decreasing of people with it and how the disease spreads; Geography studies the ethnic groups more affected and the areas in the world that present more cases. Because sickle cells disease is a main object of study for biology some of its branches study even more and specialize; the branch that is more involved with the study is genetics because it studies the mutant gene that causes the disease and the heritage from the child; embryology studies if the embryo carries or not the mutant gene; histology studies past generation and the increasing of the disease through time. Once an organism has the sickle cells anemia many of the levels of organization of matter are being affected. It starts with the molecules because the mutant gene is located in the molecule of DNA, then when it is transmitted it affects the red blood cells making them take a rigid, sticky and sickle shape that will block the blood flow through the body affecting organs like lungs, kidneys and heart (most important) if one of these vital organs fail a whole system will stop working affecting the person that has the disease, the organism. If this person has a child the chances of transmitting him/her the disease are high and if this continues, the entire population will be affected. As it has been explained the base of the sickle cells anemia comes from a mutant gene, which is located in the DNA and the macromolecules responsible of store and transmit the genetic information are the nucleic acids, these macromolecules decode and pass the genetic information of both parents to the embryo and in this case the gene´s information is translated by the nucleic acids. A hemoglobin molecule consists of four polypeptide chains: two alpha chains, each with 141 amino acids and two beta chains, each with 146 amino acids. The protein portion of each of these chains is called "globin". It is a red blood cell protein which contains iron and transports oxygen to the entire organism. The Quaternary level of protein is affected by the mutation because it has an example the hemoglobin. For these reason the hemoglobin is unable to transport the oxygen and the blood flows slower, this causes that the organs work slower and this may cause a huge problem to a whole system. Because there are more and more people with this sickle cells anemia, some people have chosen the option of not allow affected people get married so they can´t pass the disease to future generations. Other “solution” that some doctors think they´ve found is the alteration of the DNA and chromosomes of the reproductive cells of affected parents who want to have children, with this method they check that the embryo is free of this disease or take a cell from a donor and create the embryo to later put it into the future mother´s body.

Conclusion

Sickle Cells Anemia is one of the many types of anemia that exist around the world. One of the most affected ethnical groups is the African. This disease affects the red blood cells making them rigid, sticky and hard to pass through the vessels, this origin the miss function of the organs and makes systems work slowly and affect the person that has the disease. Because this disease is only transmitted by heritage there have been some unusual measures to prevent it such as prohibiting people that carries the sickle cells disease to get married and other measures is controlling the embryos and disturb the genetic information so the baby won´t have the disease.

REFERENCES

http://www.biotopics.co.uk/JmolApplet/proteinjstructure.html

https://sharepoint.cisat.jmu.edu/isat/klevicca/Web/isat454/hemoglobin_essay.html

ARMENIA

The country I choose was Armenia this country is located in the European continent. It has a population of 2,966,802 people; the capital of Armenia is Yerevan and it has a surface of around 29.800 Km2 . Armenia is consider one of the world's oldest civilizations.

Over the centuries Armenia was conquered by Greeks, Romans, Persians, Byzantines, Mongols, Arabs, Ottoman Turks, and Russians. From the 16th century through World War I, major portions of Armenia were controlled by their most brutal invader, the Ottoman Turks, under whom the Armenians experienced discrimination, religious persecution, heavy taxation, and armed attacks. In response to Armenian nationalist stirrings, the Turks massacred thousands of Armenians in 1894 and 1896. The most horrific massacre took place in April 1915 during World War I, when the Turks ordered the deportation of the Armenian population to the deserts of Syria and Mesopotamia. According to the majority of historians, between 600,000 and 1.5 million Armenians were murdered or died of starvation. The Armenian massacre is considered the first genocide of the 20th century. Turkey denies that a genocide took place and claims that a much smaller number died in a civil war.

After the Turkish defeat in World War I, the independent Republic of Armenia was established on May 28, 1918, but survived only until Nov. 29, 1920, when it was annexed by the Soviet army. On March 12, 1922, the Soviets joined Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan to form the Transcaucasian Soviet Socialist Republic, which became part of the USSR. In 1936, after a reorganization, Armenia became a separate constituent republic of the USSR. Armenia declared its independence from the collapsing Soviet Union on Sept. 23, 1991.

After nearly 100 years of hostility between Turkey and Armenia over the murder of between 600,000 and 1.5 million Armenians at the hands of Ottoman Turks during World War I, the two countries agreed in October 2009 to establish diplomatic relations and reopen the border between them.

Rules for the mission (:

1. team work
2. communication between peers
3. organization of each one´s assignments
4. be open to new ideas
5. accept critisism
6. be positive in all aspects
7. each member has to give their best
8. don´t give up!
9. show respect to everyone & everything
10. be creative