America’s Foreign Policy Essay Example for Free

America’s Foreign Policy Essay Since the end of the Cold War, the relationship between the U.S. government and the media has become increasingly significant. Coupled with the number of humanitarian interventions during the 1990’s, it begs the question, how far is the media responsible for the creation of U.S. foreign policy? Somalia, a nation wracked by civil war and famine, stirred the United Nations particularly the U.S. into action, but how far was the media responsible? It is argued that the CNN effect played a substantial role in U. S. foreign policy, as it was displaying graphic images and news stories of the crisis to the U.S. public, creating uproar over the situation, and a demand to ‘do something now’. Combined with the media’s ability to frame the news into a positive or negative light, this demonstrates the power the media has over public opinion. This in turn created pressure on the policy-makers of the U.S. and the United Nations to act, which is demonstrated in Operation Continue Hope, and UNOSOM (United Nations Operation in Somalia)I and II. However, it is also argued that the collapse of the USSR, and the attempt to create a New World Order was a deciding factor in the U.S.’s foreign policy. Without the constraints of competing ideologies and the USSR in the United Nations Security Council, the U.S. wanted to develop a world foreign policy based upon cooperation, economic development and humanitarian intervention for those in need. With the U.S. as the remaining great Superpower, it was considered their duty to take the lead and show the world how it is done – hence the foreign policy concerning Somalia. It is in my judgment that the media played a substantial part in affecting U.S. foreign policy, due to the effect it had upon the U.S. citizens, and their outcry for immediate action. However, the media is not solely responsible for the actions of the U.S., as other factors like the New World Order played its part too, which I shall demonstrate throughout this essay. The previous government, the Somali Democratic Republic, under the leadership of Major General Mohamed Siad Barre, posed the question of who would succeed the ailing leader, who had been seriously injured in a car accident. This, and the lessening of its strategic importance in the final years of the Cold War, and the reduction of Soviet support, opened up in Somalia an opportunity for rebellion. The government was becoming increasingly totalitarian, performing human atrocities against resistance movements who wanted freedom from the military dictatorship. This eventually led to the outbreak of civil war, the toppling of Barre’s regime, and a power vacuum, with various warlords vying for control. When increasing reports of human atrocities, and starving citizens reached the international community, with food prices rising by 800-1200%, President Bush, and the United Nations Security Council passed a unanimous resolution in December 1992, to deploy peacekeeping forces, and huma nitarian relief to Somalia, aimed at stabilizing the situation, with ‘all necessary means to guarantee the delivery of humanitarian aid in accordance to Chapter VII of the United Nations charter. The U.S. led United Nation forces initially met with success in providing aid to the nation, however, in 1995; United Nations peacekeepers were forced to withdraw after public opinion turned as a result of significant peacekeeper casualties, and its failure to capture General Mohamed Farah Aidid, the major warlord figure in the country. I shall now argue how the media held great responsibility for the U.S.’s foreign policy in Somalia during the 1990’s, due to the CNN effect. Since the end of the Cold War, the increasing willingness of Western governments to intervene militarily during humanitarian crises, coupled with significant levels of Western media attention to the consequences of ‘distant’ civil wars, raised substantive questions regarding the media-state relationship. Western media has enjoyed greater amounts of freedom since the toppling of the USSR, and the rise of U.S. hegemony, resulting in greater access to ‘on-scene’ news articles, and the ability to show them to the rest of the world. Coupled with the development of the internet in the 1990’s, CNN and other media stations are able to bring images and information to the public 24 hours a day. This is demonstrated when the initial U.S. marines who landed on the beaches of Mogadishu, were greeted by a swarm of American journalists and star correspondents, who had been given advance notice of the landing. With the ability to control what information is shown to their audiences, the media has a certain amount of control over public opinion, which in turn has an effect upon the government who represents them. For example, the U.S. government was already aware of the situation in Somalia before CNN shared the story, and yet was not compelled to intervene. However, once the stor y became public, the U.S., and the United Nations received a vast amount of pressure to acknowledge the situation, and act accordingly. This is known as a ‘strong CNN effect’, the ability of the media to steer the policy makers in the direction the media wants by influencing which images are shown to the public. By 1992, Somalia had become a non-functioning state. Its government and related services collapsed. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis had died, and estimated 1.5million Somali people were in imminent danger of starvation, and another 3.5million to a lesser extent. All these images were shown by media stations like CNN to the world, capturing the sense of despair and devastation, and energising a ‘must do something now feeling’, resulting in President George H. W. Bush to take the lead in the United Nations mission to prevent this humanitarian crisis. This demonstrates how the media had become greatly influential in U.S. politics, and why it holds a substantial amount of responsibility for the U.S. foreign policy in the initial invasion. Furthermore, just as the media had substantial influence on the U.S. entering Somalia in 1992, the media used this same influence to bring about the end of the humanitarian mission in 1995. In March 1993, the U.S. pushed for a more direct role in combating the various warlords in Somalia and protecting the citizens the United Nations mission had saved from starvation. This was approved by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 794, authorising the use of ‘all necessary means to establish as soon as possible a secure environment for humanitarian relief operations in Somalia’. This was met with support from the U.S. public, as during the early media reports of the intervention, words that were supportive and emphatic were used twice as many times as words which were critical and distancing. This use of positive framing and optimistic language built a support for the intervention. Initially, the U.S. led forces were successful, capturing high-ranking members of Aidi d’s government, and preventing the massacre of Somali citizens. However, on the 3rd October, the U.S. attempted to capture two high-profile lieutenants of Aidid in the city of Mogadishu, when two Black Hawk Helicopters were shot down by the Somali militia. The following rescue attempt turned what should have been an hour’s operation into an overnight standoff in the city. The battle resulted in 18 U.S. deaths, 80 wounded, and 1 helicopter pilot captured. This became known as The Battle of Mogadishu. In the wake of the battle, the media had access to images of the dead and battered American servicemen, and the victorious Somali forces parading the captured U.S. helicopter pilot Corporal William Durant through the streets of Mogadishu. Shockingly they also dragged the naked corpse of a U.S. soldier past a mob of Somali citizens who vented their anger by spitting on, stoning and kicking the body, in the full view of the cameras. In light of this news, the media changed the framing of the Somali crisis, and began to challenge the government, h ighlighting the casualty ratings the U.S. forces were sustaining. While the public had strongly supported the former President Bush’s decision to send U.S. troops to Somalia to stop the starvation, support had now almost vanished. On Capitol Hill, mounting calls for a withdrawal of U.S. troops rose to a level that newly elected President Clinton could not ignore, and announced the exit of U.S. troops by March 1994. Through the use of a ‘strong CNN effect’, the media completely turned U.S. public opinion on the Somali intervention. The starving Somali citizens, who had been the victims at the start of the intervention, had become the victimisers, who had attacked foreign soldiers who were trying to help them. The public opinion might not have deteriorated quite so substantially, if the images accompanying the story had not been present, or if the media hadn’t worded their stories quite so negatively. After all, hearing about the deaths is one thing, to see it before your eyes is quite another. This therefore, demonstrates how the media, through the use of strong CNN effect, were able to steer public opinion into entering Somalia, and out of Somalia when the situation deteriorated. Although the media holds the majority of responsibility for the U.S.’s foreign policy in Somalia, Presidents Bush and Clinton’s drive to create a New World Order also holds partially responsibility. In the wake of the Cold War, President George H. W. Bush and President Mikhail Gorbachev tried to define this new era, and the great spirit of power cooperation they hoped to see. This is highlighted in a speech by Bush, in which he indicated ‘America and the world must defend common vital interests, support the rule of law and stand up to aggression’. With this new drive to create a better world, one with cooperation between major powers, rebuilding the world and projecting a new world with greater prospects for a new millennium. Therefore, when humanitarian crises like Somalia arose, President Bush saw it as U.S.’s duty as the richest and most powerful nation in the world, to lead the international mission to save these civilians from starvation. It was hoped, that along with saving those in need, the U.S. could inspire the rest of the world to share this image of a New World Order, and help build a better tomorrow. However, since the U.S. knew about Somalia before the media published the story, it doesn’t suggest that the New World Order was the major factor in deciding to intervene in the crisis. In conclusion, the media was greatly responsible for the U.S. foreign policy in Somalia, and was, in my judgment, the main factor which decided the issue initially to intervene in Somalia, and then to exit. Firstly, through the use of a strong CNN effect, the media framed the issue, and showed images to the public in order to create uproar amongst the population. This was done in order to manipulate the policy-makers into examining the situation, and ultimately become involved. This is demonstrated by the images of starving civilians, and the chaos the various warlords and clans were creating throughout the nation. These tactics would develop a ‘do something now’ feeling. Moreover, the media was also the leading factor in the U.S. exiting from Somalia, because the media station had changed the framing of the stories to negative and critical challenges of the governments mission in Somalia. This combined with the images of The Battle of Mogadishu, and the victimisation the U.S. soldiers had suffered, dramatically changed public opinion against the U.S. foreign policy in Somalia. However, the media was not the only factor in deciding U.S. foreign policy. President Bush’s idea of a New World Order, one based on the ideas of superpower cooperation, economic prosperity and humanitarian intervention also played a part in why President Bush would send U.S. soldiers to Somalia. It was considered the U.S.’s duty to help those in need, with the hope that their example could also inspire the rest of the world to accept the New Order, and help create a new and better world, rather than the conflict and tensions which had been experienced during the Cold War. However, the New World Order arguments are not as convincing as those for the conclusive influence of the media, as the U.S. government was already of aware of the situation in Somalia before the media developed the story, suggesting that it was the public outcry that decided the issue for the U.S.’s policy makers. Which is why, it is in my judgment that the media holds the majority of the responsibility for America’s foreign policy in Somalia during the 1990’s. Bibliography: 1. Taisier Ali and Robert Matthews, Civil Wars in Africa: Roots and Resolutions, McGill-Queen’s University Press, Canada, 1999, p.p.183 2. Ekaterina Balabanova, Media, Wars and Politics: Comparing the Incomparable in Western and Eastern Europe, Ashgate Publishing Limited, Hampshire, 2007, p.p. 8 3. Arthur Banks Thomas Muller and William Overstreet, Political Handbook of the World 2008, CQ Press Publishers, Alexandria/US, 2008, p.p. 1198 4. George H.W. Bush, Address before a joint session of the Congress on the Persian Gulf Crisis and the Federal Budget Deficit, 9:09p.m. in the House Chamber at the Capitol, 1900 5. Jocelyn Coulon, translated by Phyllis Arnoff and Howard Scott, Soldiers of Diplomacy: The United Nations, Peacekeeping and the New World Order, Les Casques Bleus Publishers, Canada, 1994 p.p. 78 6. Nina Fitzgerald, Somalia: Issues, History and Bibliography, Nova Science Publishers Inc., New York, 2002, p.p. 26 7. George Kohn, Dictionaries of War, Facts on File Publishers Inc., New York, 2007, p.p. 511 8. Piers Robinson, Operation Restore Hope and the Illusion of a News Driven Media Intervention, Political Studies 49, 2001, p.p. 941-956 9. Piers Robinson, The CNN Effect: The myth of news, foreign policy and intervention, Routledge Publishers, London, 2002, p.p. 1 10. Ken Rutherford, Humanitarianism under Fire: The US and UN intervention in Somalia, Kumarain Press Publishers, Sterling, 2008, p.p. Preface xv 11. James Scott, After the End: Making U.S. foreign Policy in the Post-Cold War World, Duke University Press, North Carolina, 1999, p.p. 330 12. Richard Stewart, The United States Army in Somalia 1992-1994, Dept. of the Army Publishers, 2003 p.p. 23 13. Warren Strobel, Late-Breaking Foreign Policy: The News Media’s influence on Peace Operations, United States Institute of Peace Press, Washington, 1997, p.p. 167 14. United Nations Security Council, Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 751 (1992) and 1907 (2009) concerning Somalia and Eritrea, http://www.un.org/sc/committees/751/ 15. Thomas Weiss and Don Hubert, The Responsibility to Protect: Research, Bibliography, Background: Supplementary Volume to the report of the international commission on intervention and state sovereignty, International Development Research Centre Publishers, Ottawa, 2002, p.p. 96 [ 1 ]. Arthur Banks Thomas Muller and William Overstreet, Political Handbook of the World 2008, CQ Press Publishers, Alexandria/US, 2008, p.p. 1198 [ 2 ]. Nina Fitzgerald, Somalia: Issues, History and Bibliography, Nova Science Publishers Inc., New York, 2002, p.p. 26 [ 3 ]. Taisier Ali and Robert Matthews, Civil Wars in Africa: Roots and Resolutions, McGill-Queen’s University Press, Canada, 1999, p.p.183 [ 4 ]. United Nations Security Council, Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 751 (1992) and 1907 (2009) concerning Somalia and Eritrea, http://www.un.org/sc/committees/751/ [ 5 ]. George Kohn, Dictionaries of War, Facts on File Publishers Inc., New York, 2007, p.p. 511 [ 6 ]. Piers Robinson, The CNN Effect: The myth of news, foreign policy and intervention, Routledge Publishers, London, 2002, p.p. 1 [ 7 ]. Jocelyn Coulon, translated by Phyllis Arnoff and Howard Scott, Soldiers of Diplomacy: The United Nations, Peacekeeping and the New World Order, Les Casques Bleus Publishers, Canada, 1994 p.p. 78 [ 8 ]. Ekaterina Balabanova, Media, Wars and Politics: Comparing the Incomparable in Western and Eastern Europe, Ashgate Publishing Limited, Hampshire, 2007, p.p. 8 [ 9 ]. Ken Rutherford, Humanitarianism under Fire: The US and UN intervention in Somalia, Kumarain Press Publishers, Sterling, 2008, p.p. Preface xv [ 10 ]. Thomas Weiss and Don Hubert, The Responsibility to Protect: Research, Bibliography, Background: Supplementary Volume to the report of the international commission on intervention and state sovereignty, International Development Research Centre Publishers, Ottawa, 2002, p.p. 96 [ 11 ]. Piers Robinson, Operation Restore Hope and the Illusion of a News Dr iven Media Intervention, Political Studies 49, 2001, p.p. 941-956 [ 12 ]. Richard Stewart, The United States Army in Somalia 1992-1994, Dept. of the Army Publishers, 2003 p.p. 23 [ 13 ]. James Scott, After the End: Making U.S. foreign Policy in the Post-Cold War World, Duke University Press, North Carolina, 1999, p.p. 330 [ 14 ]. Warren Strobel, Late-Breaking Foreign Policy: The News Media’s influence on Peace Operations, United States Institute of Peace Press, Washington, 1997, p.p. 167 [ 15 ]. George H.W. Bush, Address before a joint session of the Congress on the Persian Gulf Crisis and the Federal Budget Deficit, 9:09p.m. in the House Chamber at the Capitol, 1900

Brian Friels Translations Essay -- Brian Friel Translations Essays

Brian Friel's "Translations" 'Translations' by Brian Friel can be appreciated and understood without knowledge of Irelands social, political and linguistic history. It can be enjoyed simply as a drama that incorporates comedy, tragedy and romance. However, with a greater understanding of Irelands history, such as the effect the 'great famine' had on the ordinary people of Ireland the play * In 'Translations' the people of Baile Beag show hostility towards the English army who have been sent to anglicise the place names of the area. For hundreds of years the English had made incursions in to Ireland. Many rebellions followed the conquest of Ireland, after which Queen Mary Tudor became the Queen of England and Ireland and the people of Ireland came under the control of the British government. There were attempts in the C16 to settle English colonies in Lenster and Munster but these were unsuccessful. In the C17 land was taken from Irish Earls and divided between Scottish Presbyterians. Rebellion followed in the reign of Charles 1 and this took the form of Catholic...

Michael Pollan on Peter Singer

In his article published in the New York Times, Michael Pollan interprets Peter Singer’s thoutghs as those of an ardent defender of animal rights, especially with regard to those slaughtered for meat.According to Pollan, Singer looks at the moral obligation of treating people with equal capabilities and uses it in the context of the relationship between people and animals.   Singer’s argument is not to give animals equal rights with people per se, but at least consider their rights where they both share interest.Because avoiding pain is a behavior associated with both humans and animals, animals should be given moral consideration on those grounds. Singer’s arguments, according to Pollan, have led to the conversion of thousands of people into vegetarians. Singer is therefore depicted as strong animal rights crusader.Pollan defends the meat eating culture in a number of ways. First, he believes that animals have the habit of eating each other all the time, and t herefore human beings are justified to eat them. The problem with this argument is that animals kill in order to survive. Human beings, on the other hand, do not have to kill to survive.  His second argument on why human beings should kill animals is based on domestication of animals. His position is that farm animals would be worse off if they lived in the wild.   However, domestication is driven by a demand, and that is the reason why domesticated animals exist.Indeed, animal rightist believe that if there were no domesticated animals, there would be no suffering for them. Pollan finally accepts that animal suffering is a legitimate problem, but expresses the need to solve human problems first. Again, this perspective puts animals at a disadvantage because they cannot participate in any moral decision making process.Pollan appears to embrace utilitarianism on the grounds that humans owe animals that can feel pain moral consideration, and this justifies why they should be eaten . Pollan concludes that industrialization has led to the loss of human feelings, which he refers as dehumanization. Specifically, he points out that America raises and slaughters animals in a brutal manner more than any other country.However, he insists that there is some kind of protectionism, whereby a variety of key players lack adequate information on the real status of the meat industry in America. If this information were to become available, the meat industry would undergo an overnight transformation, with meat becoming more expensive.  Ã‚  People will eat meat while giving the animals the respect they deserve. Pollan does not call for total abolishment of the places where animals are slaughtered, but rather advocates for a more humane way of growing and slaughtering them.Pollan’s argument appears more rational because his case is argued from a holistic perspective, taking views from both animal rightists and meat crusaders. His final stand is based on an analysis of the interests of both the animal rightists and meat crusaders, while that of singer appears to strictly consider animal rights only. Meat eating has featured in the diet of human beings for a long time.The hunter-gatherer societies and the early man both exploited meat, not for luxury but for subsistence. The idea of animal farming is to sustain the meat industry without compromising the availability of meat in the future. This, however, should be done in the most humane way. For example, animals should be allocated sufficient space for exercise while they are being grown. They should also be slaughtered in such a manner that they should encounter least pain.ReferencesPollan, M. (2002). An Animals Place. The New York Times magazine. Retrieved from http://michaelpollan.com/article.php?id=55 on 9th April 2009

My Passion For Learning - 990 Words

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The Issues Regarding Race, Culture, And. - 1557 Words

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Analysis Of Aristotle s The Golden Mean - 1109 Words

Halena Panico Mr. McMurray HZT 4U 3 June 2015 CPT Part 3 - Aristotle - The Golden Mean Aristotle was a greek philosopher that taught and stressed many important and revolutionary ideas/philosophies. He was born in 384 BC, and was a student of Plato, as well as founded/ taught at several academies. He wrote on diverse subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, logic, politics, government, and ethics. He contributed to almost every field of human knowledge in existence during his time, and he was the founder of many new fields. Aristotle was one of the most influential of the ancient Greek philosophers. Aristotle s theory of the Golden Mean was found in his work, Nicomachean Ethics. This theory has also been expressed by other philosophers and in mythological tales, specifically the tale of Daedalus and Icarus. Others ways this theory has been expressed is inscribed at the temple of Delphi, Theano, student of Pythagoras, Socrates and Plato. In Confucianism, it is understood as an important virtue and is described in The Doctrine of the Mean. Each of these different expressions, as well as the theory itself as described by Aristotle, will be examined. As well as an analysis of this theory from a Catholic perspective and the relevance it has in today s society. Aristotle s concept of the theory of the golden mean was elaborated on in his work Nicomachean Ethics. Nicomachean Ethics focuses on three basic elements. The first is that there is an equilibrium that aShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Aristotle s The Golden Mean 820 Words   |  4 Pages Final Exam- The Golden Mean In the philosophical book Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle introduces the means to reach the ultimate good of happiness. A guide called the Golden Mean is provided to therefore reach eudemonia. This concept encourages a balance in life in order to remain virtuous. 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And if the pursuit of happiness is not a futile quest, by what means or steps should it be undertaken? On all these questions, the great books set forth the fundamental inquiries and speculations, as well as the controversies to which they have given rise, in the tradition of western thought. There seems to be no question

Nerve Regeneration Essay Example For Students

Nerve Regeneration Essay Topic: New ways to aid in nerve regeneration. General Purpose: To informSpecific Purpose: To inform the audience about news techniques and mechanismsthat aid in nerve regeneration. Central Idea Statement: The new techniques fornerve regeneration involving magnetic, electrical, and chemical mechanisms lookvery promising. INTRODUCTION I. The site is rather common: someone in a wheelchair unable to use their lower body, or worse, unable to function from theirneck down because of an accident. You may even know one of these people. Theyall have one thing in common: spinal nerve injury. To the majority of us, one ofthe more famous and recent cases involving spinal trauma is that of ChristopherReeve, known to most of us as Superman. Reeve was riding his horse when he felloff, landed on the back of his head and twisted his neck. His spine was damagednear the second cervical vertebrae; that being two vertebrae away from the baseof the skull. He states that after his accident he saw a handbook written in1990 that didnt even mention anyone higher than because 70 percent of them didnt live longer than five days. I amvery lucky my injury happened at a time when treatment and surgery hadimproved. Dr. Cotman from UCI, who worked with Reeve says that Reeveremains optimistic that a cure is only a few million dollars away. II. Prior tothe end of the Second World War, if a person survived a severe spinal cordinjury, the injury still usually resulted in their early death. This was becauseof complications that accompanied the injury, such as infections to the kidneysand lungs. Though the development of new antibiotics has greatly improved lifeexpectancy, until recently medical science had not been able to restore nervefunction. III. According to researchers at the University of Alabama using datafrom the regional SCI Centers, there are 7,800 traumatic spinal cord injurieseach year in the US. Yet these numbers do not represent accurate figures since4,860 per year, die before reachi ng the hospital. Current estimates are that250,000-400,000 individuals live with spinal cord injury or dysfunction;forty-four percent of these occur in motor vehicle accidents. More than half ofthese injuries occur to individuals who are single, and more than 80% of theseindividuals are male. IV. Within the last five years, a great many things havebeen happening in the area of neurological research. Research and treatmentinvolving spinal and nerve injury has progressed considerably. In this speech Iwill inform you on the new and promising techniques that are currentlyundergoing testing for human treatment, in terminology that we will be able tounderstand. BODY I. The nervous system consists of the brain, spinal cord, andall branching nerves. There are two parts: the central nervous system, or CNS,and the peripheral nervous system, or PNS. The CNS, consists of the brain andspinal cord, while the PNS involves all the nerves that branch off from thespinal cord to the extremities. A. Wh en the spine is crushed or bent in anextreme accident, the spinal cord inside is severely bruised and compressed,causing localized injury and death to many of the nerve cells and their fibers. Some of injured nerves fibers survive intact, but lose their electricalinsulation, or myelin, over the very short distance of the injury zone. Nerveimpulses are blocked at this point. 1. The myelin is the part of the nerve thatactually transfers the electrical signal that enables your muscles to move whenyou want them to move. B. Nerves regenerate at the rate of about a cm a month. Keep in mind that not all nerves can regenerate (the spinal cord is a primeexample) and if a nerve is too damaged or is severed it cannot come back C. Peripheral nerves will regenerate to a certain extent on their own, but theydont regenerate over very long distances. D. The big problem with treatingspinal injuries is the fact that mature nerve tissue does not spontaneouslyregenerate. II. The three basic ways to treat nerve damage are: first, produceregeneration of the remaining segment of a nerve fiber, or make new connectionson the other side of the injury. Second, prevent or rescue the damaged nervefiber from proceeding on to separation, or perhaps even functionally reunite thetwo segments, so that both portions of the fiber survive. Or third, facilitatenerve impulse traffic to cross the region of injury in intact fibers where theyhave lost their electrical insulation. III. The techniques that are being usedto do this involve magnetic, electrical, chemical, or a combination of these tostimulate the damaged nerve. A. At present surgeons take a nerve from a lessimportant part of the body and transfer it to the site of the injury. Generallythe nerve is taken from the lower leg, but then sensation is lost in thatportion of the body. Next, the surgeons attempt to repair the nerves by sewingthe proximal and distal ends of the nerves together. However, the results areoften disappointing. Even with the operation microscope, surgeons are unable toprecisely match the thousands of minute axons, each being approximately 1/100the diameter of a human hair. B. Arthur Lander, a molecular neurobiologist whocame to UCI in 1999 from MIT, does research specifically on neural growth andrepair. What scientists currently want to learn, he said, is thefundamental mechanisms that control whether nerve fibers grow and where theygrow. Its not good enough just to get them to grow, youve got to get them toconnect to the right targets. C. Dr. Schmidt, Ph.D. from the University ofIllinois further states, Imagine the end of a damaged nerve as a smallchild lost in a forest. The child is resilient and will seek a way out, but sheneeds the help of a flashlight and a path. 1. Dr. Schmidt recentlyreceived a grant from the Whitaker Foundation to research ways to useelectricity and an electrically conducting polymer material to stimulate nervecell growth. Dr. Christine Schmidts goal is to give the nervous systemsnatural healing mechanism the help it needs in repairing cells. This may meansupplying a tiny burst of electricity to stimulate the growth of a damagednerve. It also means a pathway or tunnel the growing nerve can follow from thesite of the injury to its destination. The path or tunnel Schmidt is hoping willhelp nerve growth is just that: a minute tube composed of a black-coloredmaterial that somewhat resembles Teflon coating. Called polypyrrole, it is apolymer that conducts electricity and can be filled with nutrients that helpnerves grow. The chief drawback at present is that polypyrrole is notbiodegradable. Schmidt is trying to modify polypyrrole so that it will dissolveinto the body and disappear as the nerve regenerates, like biodegradable suturesused in surgery. D. A recent study performed at Cornell University MedicalCollege has demonstrated that exposure to magnetic fields can result in growthand regeneration of nerves. Dr. Saxena, who was in charge of the research usedlow-level magnetic fields to trigger growth and regeneration of nerve sectionsin a culture medium (basically a petri dish). The study also found that thosenerves that were not exposed to the magnetic fields experienced nervedegeneration. 1. Dr. Saxena said At the end of the year, we found thatincluded in the new growth was the myelin sheath, a structure responsible fornormal nerve conduction of impulses. These findings are especially importantbecause the myelin sheath is the part of the nerve cell that actually conductsthe electrical impulses. E. Another means to restore nerve impulse trafficin both directions through the injured spinal cord is to allow these impulses tocross the regions on the nerve fibers that have b een stripped of theirinsulation, or myelin. The electrical conduction of nerve impulses are blockedat these regions, and though the fiber may be intact, it is stillsilent. If nerve impulses do not decay in this damaged region, butare conducted to the other side, then they are carried through the rest of thenervous system in a normal fashion. The drug 4 aminopyridine (4 AP) can allowthis to happen. The drug was administered by injection, and behavioralimprovements could be observed sometimes within 15 minutes. This break throughwas subsequently moved to limited human testing in two Canadian medical centerswith colleagues Dr. Keith Hayes and Dr. Robert Hanseboiut. Their resultsextended the utility of 4 AP in human quadriplegic and paraplegics. 1. RichardB. Bargains, Director for the Center of Paralysis Research who was present forthe administration of the drug said, I particularly remember one man, 5years after his injury who began to breathe again more normally within ? hourof the ad ministration of the drug. Several more clinical trials of thedrug have been completed in the US and Canada. F. MIT scientists and colleagueshave recently discovered a gene that is capable of promoting nerve fiberregeneration. For the first time, they were able to fully reestablish lostconnections in the mature brain of a mammal. Although the research was conductedon mice, they believe that it opens the door for the functional repair of brainand spinal cord damage in humans. The scientists have shown that intrinsicgenetic factors, not just the tissue environment, are of crucial importance. Information System EssayBrain tissue in adults contains factors that inhibit fiber growth and it lacksgrowth-promoting hormones. By culturing brain tissue, the scientists determinedthat genes that cause the growth of nerve fibers shut down at a very young age. G. Purdue Universitys Center for Paralysis Research in conjunction with theSchool of Veterinary Science are using paraplegic dogs, with their ownersconsent, to test some new techniques of their own. What researchers do is inducespinal nerve fiber regeneration and to some extent guide it, through the use ofan applied electrical field. Very weak electrical fields are a natural part ofembryonic development, particularly in the nervous system, and a inherent partof wound healing in animals. In experimental treatment for paraplegic dogs,researchers reverse the polarity of the applied electrical field imposed overthe region of the injury every 15 minutes; using an electronic circuit which isimplanted securely to the outside of the spine. H. In the US the use of fetaltissue is a very controversial subject-leading to a presidential ban on any useof human embryonic derived material. Researchers at Purdue University havedeveloped an alternative. Theyve shown that nerve cells removed from the g utand grafted to a spinal cord injury in the same animal can survive. Anotherinteresting and potentially breakthrough technology involves the repair ofindividual nerve fibers using special chemicals that can both repair and coverholes in nerve membranes and even fuse the two segments of a cut nerve backtogther. One may think of this as a molecular-chemical band-aid thatprevents injured fibers from preceding on to separation and death. I. Britishscientists are developing a pioneering technique for reconnecting severednerves. But it will only work with peripheral nerves. Researchers at the RoyalFree Hospital in London have found a way to persuade the severed ends of damagednerves to grow though a special tube implanted to bridge the gap. The tinytubes-a single millimeter in diameter are glued or stitched between the cutnerve ends. The inside of the tubing is coated with special cells, calledSchwann cells, which release proteins that encouraged nerve growth. Once thenerve fibers have g rown and reconnected the polymer tubing simply dissolvesaway. The Schwann cells would be grown from the patients own cells, taken froma tiny sample of nerve, to avoid rejection problems. Doctors hope to beginimplants into patients within a year. CONCLUSION: I. The three basic techniquesthat are currently being used to treat damaged nerves concern electrical,magnetic, and chemical stimulation. II. Rapid progress is being made in the areaof research and treatment involving injured nerves. Within ten years, commonplace treatment will be available for what is presently deemed to beirreversible spinal cord damage. BibliographyHibasami H., Hirata H., Morita A., Ohkaya S., Sasaki H., Uchida A. Mechanisms of Nerve Degeneration and Regeneration Abstracts. http://brahms.chem.uic.edu/~cgpage/protocols/cloning.html(18 Sept 1998). Jacobson Resonance Enterprises, Inc. Jacobson ResonanceEnterprises Reports Cornell Study Reveals Nerve Regeneration Possible for theFirst Time Ever with Jacobson Resonator.http://www8.techmall.com/199.107.82.50/techdocs/TS981221-8.html (21 Dec., 1997). Joan Irvine Smith. The Research. http://www.communications.uci.edu/releases/reeve1.html(Spring 1996). MIT News Office. Scientists ?rebuild damaged nervetissue in mouse brain. http://www.web.mit.edu/newsoffice/tt/1997/feb26/index.html(15 Feb. 2000) Mary Lenz. Nerve regeneration project holds hope for injuryvictims. http://www.che.utexas.edu/~schmidt/links/neuro.html (29 Sept. 1998). Richard B. Borgens. New Horizons in the Treatment of Spinal CordInjury. http://www.vet.purdue.edu/cpr/research.html#Electrical Stimulation(4 Jan 2000). Thomas Brunshart, M.D.. New Strategies for NerveRegeneration. www.med.jhu.edu/ortho/news/ws1997/under.html (1997).