Young Blood, Old Dreams

The document under study an extract from a magazine called Popular Mechanics, published in 2024. It deals with how some scientists would use blood from young people to cure diseases or stay young.

For example, we have learned about a former Stanford Medical student called Jesse Karmazin who created a startup named Ambrosia. He promised that his blood plasma infusions could improve appearance, sleep, strength and even treat diseases such as Alzheimer. One infusion cost $8,000. It shows that this treatment was targeted at the elite, because these people want to look younger to maintain a good image. As a result, the FDA refused his experiment and put an end to his company because there was no scientific proof that it actually worked.

In history, people had already used young blood to cure or try to stay young. For instance, in ancient Rome, epileptics drank gladiators’ blood hoping to cure their disease. Moreover, Pope Innocent VIII drank the blood of three boys to survive his illness.

Alexander Bogdanov died because of his last transfusions at the early age of 54. It shows that the injection of young blood works only on a short term. However, they can destroy your health very quickly and could kill you.

To conclude, J. Karmazin refused to tell the source of the blood plasma he used because, on one hand the donors might have thought that it was for medical reasons and not for cosmetic ones. Moreover, it could create fights between parents and children because as minors, parents should decide for them and the children could be forced to do it, which is illegal, unethical and a form of abuse.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

Young Blood, Old Dreams

The document under study is an article extracted from Popular Mechanics magazine, published in 2024. It deals with different stories that are about scientists using young blood to try to stay young and healthy. For example, we have learned about Jesse Karmazin, a former Stanford Medical School student, who created a startup called Ambrosia. He was offering $8,000 infusions to improve his patients’ health: physical appearance, sleep and strength as well as treating diseases such as Alzheimer. This treatment was meant to target at wealthy people. Eventually, the FDA decided to put an end to his startup because there was no scientific proof that it could actually work.

In history, we can find several stories of people using young blood to try to stay young and healthy. For instance, Pope Innocent VIII drank the blood of 3 young boys try to survive his illness.

Moreover, in ancient Rome, people who were suffering from epilepsy tried to drink gladiators’ blood to cure their illness.

In the 1920s, A. Bogdanov gave himself several blood transfusions. Unfortunately, the twelfth one gave him malaria and tuberculosis which eventually caused his death.

To conclude, J. Karmazin refused to say the source of the blood plasma he used. Indeed, he might have taken the blood from suspicious or illegal sources. This highlights a lack of security measures and transparency. Moreover, the donors might have been exploited to make these experiments by a profit-driven company. This is unethical.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

Young Blood, Old Dreams

The document under study is an article from Popular Mechanics magazine, published in 20. It deals with how some scientists tried to use blood to improve human health. For example, the start up Ambrosia was created by Jesse Karmazin, a former Stanford Medical student. He promised that his blood plasma infusions would help people look younger, would strengthen them, would improve sleep and even would treat Alzheimer disease. One infusion of blood plasma cost $8,000, which shows that this treatment was targeting at only rich people. Eventually, the US authorities did not accept his treatment. They even stopped his activity because they had no scientific proof that it could work.

This concept of using young blood to stay young is not new, for instance Pope Innocent VIII a thousand years ago drank the blood of young boys to try to heal himself. Moreover, in ancient Rome, blood was used for rejuvenating purposes. In fact, they would take the blood of wounded gladiators to capture their “life force”.

Nevertheless, in the 1920s, A. Bogdanov gave himself young blood transfusions to be healthier. However, on his twelfth transfusion, he caught diseases: malaria and tuberculosis that killed him at the age of 54. This shows that this type of experiment are very dangerous for human bodies. To conclude, the fact that J. Karmazin refused to say where the plasma came from. It highlights that there is a lack of transparency and that this type of procedure cannot be trustworthy.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

 Differences with the American and the British school systems.

The document under study is a video about the differences between the American and the British school systems. We have learned that in American schools, students have 3 months of summer holiday. As opposed to the British students, indeed, they only have 6 weeks of summer vacation.

Moreover, in American school, in PE (Physical Education) classes, students should wear the colors of the school to make sure to have 30% of their final grade. On top of that, American students are not allowed to have backpacks at school for security reasons, as a result they have to hold all their books with them. They have lockers in which they can leave their books. Contrary to British students, they do not have lockers and have their books in their backpacks. Furthermore, in the USA, they have nine classes. In addition, the grading (US) /marking (UK) system is different: in the USA, students just need to be present, to participate and do their homework to have a good grade. Whereas British students have to pass tests, which represents 80% of the final grade, the other 20% refer to a grade for their project.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

Cultural Overview

The document under study is an article published on June 24^th 2026, on News from the States website. It was written by Ashley Murray. It deals with/ it is about the different displays of celebration of the 250^th anniversary of the USA that could be enjoyed by everyone. For example, the time capsule, fireworks, parades…

It is interesting to note that there were two separate celebrations. Indeed, the first one, called “America250” was led by Congress, the second one called Freedom 250 was directed by the White House. This highlights how the two political parties (the Democrats and the Republicans) are polarizing the country. As a matter of fact, this reflects on the controversy around the White House. The country is socially and politically deeply divided.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

A Cultural Overview

The document under study is a web article which was published on News from the States website, on June 24^th, 2026. It was written by Ashley Murray. It deals with/ it is about the 250^th anniversary of America and how Americans were organizing themselves for the festivities. They had planned to organize protests, parades, the burying of a time capsule and fireworks. Nevertheless, the USA is politically and socially polarized in two separate groups. This was showcased in the organization of the festivities with two different celebrations: one led by Congress called “America250” and the other one led by the White House called “Freedom 250”. This highlights how even in this type of such important event the US remains polarized and divided.

Homework: Learn the lesson.

A Cultural Overview

The document under study is a web article written by Ashley Murray, published on June 24^th, 2026 on “News from the states” website. It deals with how the celebration of the 250’s anniversary of America would be celebrated. Even if the celebration looked impressive, it also highlighted to some extent the polarized situation at the time in the USA politically and socially. She explains what would be organized to celebrate the event, with protests, parties, the burying of a Time Capsule and fireworks. In addition, there were also two separate commissions to organize the festivities: America250 organized by Congress and Freedom 250 directed by the White House. This showcases that the nation was not united, indeed there was a social and political gap within the country.

Homework: Learn the lesson.