Dystopian Project

Final: Diseases
By: Tatum Smith, Madison Beaver,
Amanda Medina, Jona Taylor,
Cassandra Hormozi, and Isabel
Enriquez

Our dystopian project was all based on diseases because diseases are a very important
factor in our society today, especially when it comes to finding solutions or even preventing
future diseases. We found many different reasons as to why some different compounds and

elements cause these certain diseases- like cancer. Many of the solutions to our diseases involved
nanotechnology to help prevent them and chemistry that can be used. We also found that there is
always many films and books based off diseases and whether or not there are solutions to them in
that society.
Some compounds we found that caused diseases were Dichloromethane, also known as
Methylene Chloride, Lead, and Formaldehyde all had long-term and short-term effects to
humans and our bodies. The short-term effects to these three compounds are constantly being
revised and are sure to have preventions due to a full understanding of them and how they affect
living organisms.
Our main compound that we based our whole dystopian project off of was
Dichloromethane, or Methylene Chloride. Dichloromethane is a solvent in paint strippers and
removers, propellants in aerosals (for paints, automotive products, and bug sprays), its also a
postharvest fumigant for grains or fruits, and a degreening agent in citrus fruits. Short-term
effects to this compound includes nervous system defects (decrease in visual, auditory, and motor
functions), these effects can be reversible if there is not a long time exposure and treated
immediately. The long-term effects are also a great deal, these include the central nervous system
as a major target as well as lung, liver and pancreatic cancers which are very serious conditions.
Solutions to prevent this, as well as the other compounds, will be further discussed in the essay
but precautions include having caution while using all above aerosals in your household or
having them used a numerous amount of times. Clean your household thoroughly and often as
well while trying to avoid harmful sprays for objects and cleaning your foods as well.
Lead was one of other compounds which can easily cause lead poisoning, which is when
lead becomes built up or backed up in the body. Children under the age of six are most

vulnerable to this type of poisoning. Lead can be found in dusts, not thoroughly washed foods
that were store purchased, paints, soil and water. Lead poisoning can severely affect the mental
and physical development in younger children. Adults who were with paints, batteries, home
renovations, or auto repair shops are also in danger of being exposed to high levels of lead. Some
short-term and long term effects include: abdominal pains, constipation, headaches, pain/tingling
sensation in hands/feet, loss of appetite, memory loss, weakness, depression, tiredness, and
nausea. Many of these symptoms are easily overlooked because they are common, but prolonged
lead exposure can easily cause damage to the brain and kidneys. Easy solutions to this include
dusting regularly, washing all foods, checking paints for lead bases before purchasing, and
checking your water pipes for lead.
Formaldehyde is also a very common compound found in household products such as:
wood, plywood, fiber boards, glues and adhesives, fabrics, paper coatings, and some insulation
materials. Formaldehyde also occurs naturally and is produced in small amounts of most living
organisms as part of normal metabolic processes. Some short-term effects of being exposed to
this compound include: watery eyes, a burning sensation in the eyes, nose, and throat, coughing
and/or wheezing, nausea, and skin irritations. Some people can be very sensitive to
formaldehydes whereas others dont have any reaction. The long-term effects are quite horrid
and include: lymphatic cancers, hematologic cancers, myeloid leukemia, infections, and brain
tumors. Simple solutions to reducing the effects of this compound would be trying not to use
outdoor products indoors including building materials, ensuring adequate ventilation, a
regulation of indoor temperatures and humidity, and cleaning air conditioning or heating filters
regularly.

Throughout our groups research, our group discovered that our best bet to finding any
solution to cancerous diseases would be with using nanotechnology, Nano-Cocoons to be exact.
Nano-Cocoons were designed by Josh Chen, Zhen Gu and their team at North Carolina
University. The biochemical engineering researchers have developed a system of drug delivery
using cocoons made of DNA that target cancerous cells and trick them into absorbing the
cocoon before unleashing anticancer drugs. The Nano-Cocoon is coated in a thin polymer layer
and stranded with folic acid ligands. It uses covalent bonds and it is a long chain polymer. The
Nano-Cocoons core contains the DNAse protein, an anticancer drug, Doxorubicin. The reason
for the Nano-Cocoons sudden developments in 2014 is because researchers found it to be less
toxic to patients because its biocompatible and they are easy to manufacture.
New advancements in technology allow scientists to develop new medicines and
treatments for diseases. One thing scientists can do is make a pill or type of chemo to attack only
cancer cells by having them attack the diseased cells. Making something like this will be much
easier with todays technology.
A Penn state professor used chemistry to better understand disease. Using a magnetic
device he better understood the proteins in the body that cause cancer, diabetes, and hepatitis c.
Scott Showalter uses this magnet and the knowledge of molecular structures to contribute to
finding a cure for cancer. They are attempting to use the machine to study disordered proteins
which causes nearly seventy percent of disease. These molecules are so tiny they cant even
study them under a microscope, but using the magnets will get the molecules moving, making
the process easier. The disordered proteins are not yet understood enough for scientists to make a
medicine attacking them. Using this magnet is a giant advancement in chemistry and Scott
continues to share his discoveries with other scientists hoping to cure cancer and other terminal
diseases.
Another study that has helped is crystallography. This helps study the structure of atoms
in depth using crystal like structures to better understand molecule arrangement. This also allows
chemists to know the structure of the proteins and use it as an advantage to develop medicines to
penetrate within the molecule.

These advancements are growing and growing in the medicine world. I believe in about
twenty years most terminal diseases will have a cure for good. We are on the verge of creating a
new world.
Being that our dystopian project was about diseases and how to cure them, we picked two
movies that showed diseases that, although very exaggerated, gave an idea of how bad an
outbreak can be. In the movie The Crazies, the water becomes contaminated. It starts with the
house in town that receives the filtered water first then grows to where almost the entire
community is experiencing behavioral changes due to the disease the contamination caused. The
movie Contagion expresses the spread of disease. A woman goes to Hong Kong and upon return
to her home in Minnesota, she becomes ill. Days later the woman mysteriously dies. A pandemic
begins and many people become infected. The infection is not resolved in The Crazies; shown by
its ending that some of the diseased people escaped the town. And finally in Contagion, a cure is
found
The Fault in Our Stars is a novel written by John Green. It relates to the topic of disease
because both of the main characters suffer from a form of cancer. Hazel has lung cancer and Gus
has tumors scattered throughout his body. This was a popular novel among teenagers and sheds
light on the horrible disease. In the novel both characters cancer goes into remission, but
however Gus has a relapse and is unable to beat cancer.
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews is another novel where a character is
diagnosed with cancer. In this novel Rachel, Greg's childhood friend, is diagnosed with leukemia
and his mother forces him to reconnect with her while his friend Earl tags along. Rachel decides
to quit treatment and Greg and Earl decide to make her a film called The Worst Film Ever.
Cancer is caused by many factors in our everyday life. Cancer causing agents are in our water,
food, air and in many buildings, it can also be influenced by genetics. Arsenic is known to cause
cancer and traces of it are found in our tap and bottled water. Artificial hormones and pesticides,
used in and on processed foods that we consume, contain cancer causing agents such as 2,4-D,
Chlordane and Malathion which is a pesticide known to increase the risk of breast cancer.
Zeranol is another pesticide, which is one of the most widely used chemicals in the meat
industry, that also increases risks. Asbestos and Formaldehyde in our buildings and air are known

to cause cancer. All of these chemicals most of us come in contact with in our daily life, which
puts us at a higher risk for many different types of cancers and other diseases.

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