1. Problems: How do we solve it? <br />By Carlos Santos Perez<br />““Walker there is no path the path is made when walking” This quote said by the poet Antonio Machado is the quote that I repeat every day before going to my laboratory, in order to continue my researches. All life is about finding problems in everyday life and try to solve it by the invention of a procedure. This procedure can be good but also it can be wrong. For that reason is that we have to build the road through the adventures of our investigations. But it has to be established that once solved the problem, our construction of the road does not end there but continues with other problems that we confront daily.” The story written above represents the everyday life, according to my discretions, of the researches and the speakers that provided us the Research Initiative of Scientific Enhancement Program Seminars. I had the great opportunity to go to three of them and scrutinize about how is the life model of a researcher. This is because in the seminar they didn’t only present science, they also were there, in order to provide us motivation and hope to get a PhD, MD/Phd, MD or another research career. The seminars that I assisted were: What is a Cancer Gene doing in the inner ear: Onconmodulin, Calcium Signaling and Sensor Hair Cells., DNA damage sensing and repair: A look at the road of genome stability and lastly A Process for microbial Hydrocarbon Synthesis. This essay will present hypothetical situations in order to obligate the audience to be sympathetic and in this way appreciate how important are these three investigations. At present these investigations are in course. <br />Suppose all humans being continue using, in an excessively way, apparatus for the ears like iPod headphones etc. It can be believed that these objects are very inoffensive. That thinking is wrong. A headphone can be very harmful to the human ear. Dwayne Simmons made us concerning about this in his seminar called: What is a Cancer Gene doing in the inner ear: Onconmodulin, Calcium Signaling and Sensor Hair Cells. During this seminar he explained to us, that in the inner ear of the mammals have hair cells. The hair cells control synaptic processes of efferent and afferent axons. These synaptic processes can be affected negatively by: aging, and exposure to strong and powerful sounds. However, Simmons indicated to us that it was know little about this topic(Synaptic processes between the hair cells of the inner body and the brain) On the other hand the researchers know that Ca2+ is an important factor in the cascade signaling reaction of the hair cells(in the inner ear). If science accomplish to understand this, it can be very useful in order to know how to regulate the production or the inhibiton of Ca2+ and if we know how to regulate the pathway of Ca2+ production, we can help people with Cancer. The regulation of Ca2+ is being tested on the ears of amphibians and reptiles and there is a big possibility that the regulation of Ca2+ can be achieved genetically.<br />As it was denoted, genetics has a great value for the regulation, inhibition or production of some ions, hormones or neurotransmitters. Lots of people may extend their lives if there were more knowledge about this field. Patients of Parkinson Disease may benefit if there was a better way to control the telomere actions and the effects that they have in the DNA replication and the mitosis of the cell. Also from apoptosis from the dopaminergic cell that is one of the actions that cause Parkinson. Although Patrick Brand of the University of North Carolina didn’t study Parkinson Disease and neither of the telomeres. His topic of the seminar was: DNA damage sensing and repair: a look to the genome stability. The stability of the genome depends largely of the control that the DNA is replicated. There are lots of proteins that are related with the production of genetic integrity that maintains the DNA at the moment of its replication. An example is the DNA ligase. Besides of the DNA ligase, the telomeres take care of giving stability to the chromosomes and to the DNA. However the telomeres, although they have genes, they can’t be encoded and because of that reason, that piece can’t be replicated. Although Dr. Brand didn’t mention it, this affects the aging and the carcinogenesis. Not only this, but according to my scientific criteria we should also evaluate mitochondrial DNA replication since lots of mutations that develop in it can cause deregulation in the mitochondrial activity. Through this it opens ways to free radical existence and these radicals can cause diseases like Cancer or Parkinson.<br />The mitochondrion is one of the main centers of energy in the human body and the cell. The energy is very important in a world that is full of fossil fuels consumption and the massive exploitation of the few resources not renewable that are left in order to obtain energy. A way to avoid the loss of the resources is through the synthesis of hydrocarbons in microorganisms. This topic discussed by Dr. Brian Pfleger of the University of Wisconsin called Microbial hydrocarbon Synthesis was one of great interest for me. Through genetic modification it was achieved that the microorganisms produce hydrocarbons. These hydrocarbons can then be utilize in substitution of petroleum, natural gas and coal. In Puerto Rico we have big discrepancies about the approval of the Gas Pipe. This Gas pipe will pass through the entire Island, form south to north. My opinion mediated by this seminar, is that scientists have to find bio-alternative products and not to focus only in the chemical parameters like the use of hydrocarbons or physics. <br />In conclusion it can be established that these speakers didn’t only provide a scientific seminar, they provided also different opinions that can be scientific and social opinions (especially the microbial synthesis of hydrocarbon). In the differences we can also find other problems and with that problem it can be find new solutions and new approaches to new things. That is why we have to observe what is around us we don’t know where is the next question or the next answer that can save millions of lives. <br />