Reference no: EM1337202

Give a critical evaluation of each of the following passages

The preferred food of red-tailed boas consists of small mammals. Coyolxauhqui is a red-tailed boa, so she must eat mice.

We must accept the traditions of the men of old time who affirm themselves to be the offspring of the gods that is what they say and they must surely have known their own ancestors. How can we doubt the word of the children of the gods? (Plato, Timaeus)

"Since Venus rotates so slowly, we might be tempted to conclude that Venus, like Mercury, keeps one face always toward the Sun. If this hypothesis were correct we should expect that the dark side would be exceedingly cold. Pettit and Nicholson have measured the temperature of the dark side of Venus. They find that the temperature is not low, its value being only -9 F., much warmer than our stratosphere in broad daylight. It is unlikely that atmospheric currents from the bright side of Venus could perpetually heat the dark side. The planet must rotate fairly often to keep the dark side from cooling excessively." (Fred L. Whipple, Earth, Moon, and Planets)

When small fragments of tissue, removed from an organ, are cultivated like colonies of bacteria, they grow for a while, age, and die. What is the cause of death? Probably the waste products set free by the living cells. According to this hypothesis, the colonies of cells were washed frequently in a saline solution, and given proper food. A striking result was obtained. Aging and death were suppressed. The colonies originating from a fragment of tissue extirpated from a chick embryo nearly twenty-four years ago are still alive. Not only are they alive, but they grow as actively as on the first day. They double in size every forty-eight hours. Two important facts were brought to light by this experiment. First, removal of waste products and proper food prevent, in a colony of tissue cells, the occurrence of death. Second, the cells that build up the body are capable of unlimited multiplication. They are potentially immortal. Still more useful information can be obtained from viscera living outside of the body. An organ such as the thyroid gland, ovary, testicle, spleen, etc., is placed in an apparatus recently invented by C. A. Lindbergh, where it is completely protected from bacterial infection. Through its arteries a nutrient fluid is caused to pulsate and circulate, just like the blood pumped by the heart through the whole body. Under these conditions, organs taken from dead animals not only survive, but also grow, and set free active substances in the circulating fluid. Thus, the mechanisms underlying the development. or the degeneration, of anatomical structures may be analyzed. The presence of certain chemical substances, and the lack of elimination of waste products are found to cause most of the alterations in the organs. (Alexis Carrel, The Mystery of Death)