When most people think of a gravesite they think of where
the dead are buried or where love ones are buried. But, a research team from
Toronto plans to exhume or “dig up” seven bodies from permafrost. The research
team hopes to find what caused a global epidemic that killed 20 million people
from 1918 to 1919.
When I first read this part of the article, I thought to
myself, “Digging up dead bodies to do research can be disrespectful to the
family,” but as I read this article more closely I found out that not only did
the research team get permission from the families but Dr. Duncan who was part
of the research team stated, “This will be done with the greatest respect and
dignity.” This research that is being done can also help people in the future
with its knowledge of the epidemic.
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The 1918 epidemic was called Spanish Flu at the time, but
scientists were unsure what to accurately identify it as. The symptoms, which
include sudden fever, chills, headache, malaise, muscle pain, pneumonia and
rapid death killed millions. Dr. Kirsty Duncan an assistant professor at the
University of Windsor, spent three years trying to locate the far-northern
grave site of people who had died in the great pandemic.
I definitely agree with Dr. Lewin (team member of the research
team) “discovering and analyzing the microbe will help ward off similar
outbreaks in the future. “ I mean, finding and analyzing a microbe that killed
millions of people can definitely be helpful to make sure that a similar
outbreak don’t occur in the future because of it. Scientists are exploring and
analyzing microbes every day! I can also see why people might get upset though.
Uncovering a very deadly microbe that hasn’t been seen for almost 100 years can
get people talking. Why are they doing this? It can revive and kill more!
For this article I am kind of in the middle. I see why
people can get upset and say, “don’t uncover a microbe that is “stored” away,
it could harm more people.” I wouldn’t want a microbe killing millions and
cause a global epidemic. Then, there is the “researcher” side. They want to see
if this microbe is still lurking in the lungs of the bodies and if it is, then
they want to examine it to possibly prevent an epidemic like the one that happened
in 1918. I also agree with this side because of the lives it can possibly save
if this research does find adequate information to help prevent another
epidemic. What is your opinion? Should we be cautious and not explore an old,
deadly microbe? Or should we possibly play Russian roulette and uncover a
deadly microbe to examine it to perhaps stop a similar epidemic?
(*This article was published it 1996. I wrote the blog as if
it were just recently published. I will definitely follow up if I can find more
information on this research.)
http://www.nytimes.com/1996/05/28/science/microbes-sought-in-frozen-graves.html
Angelo, I agree that this is a shady situation; there is not a right or wrong answer here. It is hard to determine what the future will hold. To me, and my limited knowledge about microbes I would assume that the microbe lurking in the dead body would be dead as well. I am unsure if that is true, but it seems that it would be safe to do research on the microbe. However, if it is still alive or has the chance of “returning from the dead” then it might not be the best idea to bring it back into the open where there are live hosts around. The researchers would still like to learn more about the deadly disease and the microbes that caused the epidemic. I am glad to know that the research team will conduct their experiments with the up most respect for the victims. This was a very interesting blog to read about and it is tough one to make an opinion about because it has advantages and disadvantages.
ReplyDeleteThis is really something to think about. Bringing up the microbes from a dead body seems very impossible. If the body is dead, the things in the bodies will as well. Do the microbes disappear? Do they stay unharmed? This would be some very helpful information to know before anything went further. If the Spanish influenza was so horrible the first time why would they want to risk it? Do they think with today's medicine they could kill it? Or take the sickness put and make it healthy again?
ReplyDeleteI can see why people would be skeptic about researchers digging into the graves to study a microbe that killed millions of people. However, if they are worried about the microbe coming back, then being buried underground wouldn't have prevented that. I believe that it's very important that researchers uncover this and try to learn more about this microbe. If anything, the researchers are risking their lives going out there, to prevent this from happening again in the future. By uncovering this microbe, they might even learn more about how it came to be, where it originated from, how it works, which could possibly uncover even more than they had hoped. Hopefully, by uncovering these graves, they will get some answers. It would definitely be a good idea to do everything in a secured facility, completely under control, in case this microbe does come back from the "dead".
ReplyDeleteWhile the human bodies are dead, many of the microbes are still alive at a very reduced level. Microbes in the permafrost can exist for very long periods of time, reducing their cellular activities to a minimum. I think it's a good idea to study these microbes, but with precautions so that bioterrorists don't acquire them.
ReplyDelete