User:Alexajacome/sandboxNew Sandbox

The show “9 months that made you” was produced by PBS and released in 2016. It follows the week by week events that shape you. It also introduces interesting people who are the biproduct of mutations or environmental factors that occur during the months of pregnancy. The show consists of three episodes which are split up based off the different gestational periods of pregnancy; Episode one covers the first 8 weeks of pregnancy, episode two focuses on the middle months of pregnancy that make a person unique, and the third episode consists of the final months in the womb where vital survival tools are developed.

Episode 1- First 8 Weeks

This episode begins by introducing 4 identical quadruplets: Holly Georgie, Jessica, and Ellie. They are very unique; there is only 70 pairs of identical quadruplets in the world. This is a result of four separate eggs being fertilized during conception. Baby Nunha is the next story introduced: she was conceived during the wet season in Gambia. There is said to be a correlation between the season you were born in this country and your life expectancy. Variations in diet also influence how long a person lives. This information was discovered from a 70-year-old study that followed the timeline from birth to old age. The diet provides nutrients that bind to the strands of DNA which influences how certain genes world. Babies that were born in the dry season have a weaker immune system, which makes it harder for them to fight infections. This is caused by a gene that was meant to be switched off. Melanie Gaydos is another interesting story. She suffers from ectodermal dysplasia which affects the hair, skin, teeth, and nails. Due to the TP63 gene causing this condition, her skin became extremely sensitive, her teeth grew inward, and it prevented hair growth. Neil is a 7-year-old girl that is the protagonist of this story. Early in womb development, she inherited 2 copies of her father’s growth gene instead of one. This caused her growth rate to be accelerated and makes her more prone to cancer, since her cells divide at a faster rate than normal which can lead to tumors. Due to her abnormal growth, she is a head taller than her peers. Randy Foye is a professional basketball player, who is the most successful mirror image man. One in every thousand person suffers from this. This condition causes him to have his heart on the right side of his body and the kidneys to the left. Situs Inversus is an inheritable condition and is caused by the cilia not directing things the correct way, which causes everything to go the wrong direction in the body and therefore everything is mirror image of where it is supposed to be. Hannah is 36 weeks pregnant, but her baby suffers from a defect, his main artery that takes blood to the body was too narrow, therefore blood couldn’t get through. The baby arrived 3 weeks early and after 5 days of being born, the baby was submitted to a life-saving operation to remove the obstruction from the artery. Another rare story is the condition of the Da Silva Family. They have six fingers on each hand. Out of 22 family members, fourteen have an extra finger on each hand. Sonic hedgehog is an indicator in our body that tells fingers what to become and where to grow. Random genetic mutations produce more sonic hedgehog than usual. During the last week of the first trimester, the inner ear is formed. This allows people to have balance; this is how Bruno Carrera is able to balance during his extreme sport activities.

Episode 2-One of a Kind

During the middle stages of pregnancy, faces form, fingertips develop, and skin takes on color. In this time period, the first signs of individuality are revealed, where gender is revealed. At the 8thweek period, males release testosterone which stimulates their penis to grow. Males and females have a small protrusion called a tubercle which is the place where genitals grow. The gonads turn into testicles, which causes the tubercle to then form into a penis. Johnny is the first person introduced in this episode. His parents thought he was a female, therefore they dressed him up as a girl. He did not process testosterone correctly, which caused his penis to not grow while in the womb. 1/90 males in the village he is from are born without a penis. Gaudalin is a young girl that has two little testicles. She inherited the y chromosome, so genetically she is a boy. However, she lacks the enzyme that produces dihydrotestosterone which stimulates male characteristics to develop. As a result, her penis will grow during puberty. “Guevadoce” is a term that was coined for those who grow a penis at the age of twelve. Oliver is a case in which his face was not finished in the womb. He was born with a cleft lip. This is a common congenital condition which can be easily fixed with an operation. During the 10thweek of pregnancy, fingerprints begin to develop. Cheryl, however, lacks fingerprints. This is caused immigration delay disease. An interesting fact is that 90% of people are right-handed. Tom stalker is left-handed; this trait runs in his family. Since he is left-handed, this makes him more prone to have dyslexia or other conditions. At the thirteenth week in the womb, melanocytes spread. The number of melanocytes affects how dark the skin can become. Nazaro suffers from Albinism. There are 150,000 albinos in Tanzania, where he is from. His melanocytes are unable to store the melanin he needs, which results in a deficiency in pigmentation. Nazaro is part of a soccer team where all his teammates are also albino. To compensate for their condition, they play when the sun begins to set. Jo is a cancer patient who suffers from Leukemia, cancer in the blood. Her best option for recovery is a bone marrow transplant. During the 14thweek in the womb, leukocyte antigens begin to arise.”The human leukocyte antigen (HLA) system or complex is a gene complex encoding the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) proteins in humans. These cell-surface proteins are responsible for the regulation of the immune system in humans.” At the 15thweek mark, a surge of testosterone comes in. The brain is sensitive to hormonal changes. This surge alters the structure of the brain that processes fear and excitement. Greater exposure to testosterone before birth is said to be linked to how competitive we are. A condition that can occur in the body is when the persons physiology and gender do not match. Mati is a prime example of this; she is a young girl trapped in a boy’s body. This makes her a transgender individual. It was very important to her parents for her to undergo this transformation of having her name changed and being introduced as a girl by the time school started.

Episode 3- The Final Countdown

In the last episode, the final months of pregnancy are introduced, where we get stronger and develop crucial survival tools. The skeleton is a framework that provides shape and strength. The body consists of 200 bones which provide motility and shape, as well as protection. Janelly suffers from hypophosphatasia, which results in a lack of ability to make bones. She was not growing or putting up weight, despite now being 9 years old. This condition affects every bone in her body including her skull. When she was born, she needed a ventilator when she was born; she lacked ribs to protect her lungs. TNSLAP is a gene that triggers born formation to continue and allows cartilage to become strong bone, which is the gene she lacks. A new drug from Australia was experimented with Janelly and it ended up replacing the missing protein in her body. She began to develop real bones, which was miraculous. Around the 16thweek period, the fetus begins producing its own blood. Fetal blood cells contain a distinct type of hemoglobin which has a greater affinity for oxygen. During this 16thweek period, fetal blood begins changing to adult blood. There are various types of blood types, but Thomas has a rare blood type: Rhesus Null Blood. This type of blood is stores in Paris and Amsterdam so if ever in need of an emergency, he would have to go there to receive blood. His blood is the closest thing to universal donor blood. However, he must live a very careful life in order to avoid any blood loss or serious injury. At the 28thweek of pregnancy, the cochlea is formed. In order to test a baby’s hearing, a test can be performed by putting headphones on the mother in order for her not to influence a response and producing sounds. Based off the baby’s heartbeat, they will know whether or not the baby can hear in the womb. A group of pregnant women read rhymes to their unborn babies and then paused for a couple weeks. When read to again, their heart rates dropped because they felt calm and familiar with what they were hearing. The brain has the ability to store memories before birth, but they do not last. At the 29thweek, our rods are sensitive, which result in us seeing a black and white image. However, changes begin to occur where are cone cells are being wired up in order for us to see color. Red, green, and blue colors are converted into nerve impulses which are then translated into a colored image. If these proteins malfunction, everything remains in black and white. In 1780, Pingelap island was wiped out by a tsunami, where only 20 people survived including the king. He was believed to have been color blind. Since they did not procreate with people outside their community, this genetic fault was passed on through generations and continues to affect the population. Lal and Freddy are two people who share the same diet and lifestyle, yet Lal has diabetes and Freddy doesn’t. Both men were born in India, but their parents’ lifestyles there were very different. Lal’s mom was from a small village where she had a low-calorie diet. Freddy’s mom is from a big city in India, where she received a high-calorie diet. Now living in New York, Lal has a high calorie diet, which is not what his body was programmed to have in the womb. Therefore, he is much more likely to develop diabetes due to this predisposition. The next story is about pregnancy and exposure to stress. Vincent’s mother was trapped in her home during a horrible winter storm which caused her to live under constant stress. She was studied so the impact on stress on a fetus could be measured. It was discovered that children whose mother’s experienced extreme stress during pregnancy experienced impaired language and motor skills. The children said significantly less words at the age of two compared to other children raised in normal conditions. Their health was also impaired: they were more prone to autism, asthma, and obesity. Children that were in utero while their mothers were experiencing stress have a unique mark in their DNA. Methylation takes place in the womb and switches certain genes on or off. There is a direct correlation between the amount of methylation in the high stress group and the number of days the mothers lived without power during the ice storm. Sam is the last story of a free diver who pushes her lungs to the limit. Her lungs have a reduced capacity for intaking oxygen because her alveoli did not properly develop. Despite her defect, she can dive for up to 5 minutes. This concludes the end to the pregnancy, where now the countdown to birth begins. Oxytocin is released which triggers contractions. These contractions increase in intensity which lead to the birth of the child. With the first breathe the baby takes, it marks the end of the 9-month journey.