quoting myself:
"In humans, inferior genes are passed to future generations in frequencies unheard of throughout the evolutionary history of the species. Modern medicine, modern convenience, and modern technology has made it possible for just about anyone to survive, in spite of the fate written into their genes, so humans are no longer a good model for evolution, in a sense we have taken control of our evolution, and decided as a species to allow inferior genes to have a permanent place in the gene pool."
... which is why it's so integral to the future evolution of the human species, to embrace new beneficial genetic technologies, therapies, biotechnology advances, and genomic medicine. (thesis)
It's regressing to not prevent a disease when the gene for prevention ALREADY exists. Nothing can be created that has not already been created through natural selection in a species- obviously there's a reason why the combined efforts of numberless individuals (all of whom had PHD level educations) synthesized to create a new chapter of human evolution (passive). Scientists sequenced the human genome so many years ago at the point, in addition to completing the daunting task years ahead of schedule. The golden age of genetics is now over, yet it has paved the way for the golden age of biotechnology.
It's devolving to allow genes for low intelligence, when genes for high intelligence already commonly exist. Nobody would choose to be unattractive, to have an unattractive personality with mental disorders, or to be deaf, blind, mute, or retarded if they could choose, children will only be endlessly grateful to parents with the knowledge, foresight, intelligence, and intuition to make every effort possible to give them the best possible chance for success in our modern, albeit sometimes irrational and unnatural contemporary societies and cultures in which the "strongest" genes are not now always the "best fit" given the pluralism of the modern world.
Nobody wants to get alzeimers, cancer, or be born deformed, and on a more fundamental level, everyone craves immortality. So thank Buddha for the new advances in telomere science...
GoodnessGenomics & Cell Recycling
11/21/08
expanding on an idea
suicide
Teen kills himself live on the internet
-> totally fascinating! Remember the woman from the 70s who shot herself in the head while delivering the news?
11/20/08
news
The science of stem cell research has demonstrated a major practical advance - a Colombian woman has become the first person to receive a whole organ transplant developed using her own cells.
Many People Disregard Advice to Get HIV Tests, Studies Show
Second spacewalk a success; water recycling glitch studied
interesting
e=mc2: 103 years later, Einstein's proven right
-> p.s. when the fuck is æ ∞ -æ going to get the respect/reverence/fame/PAY OFF it I deserves?
fun facts about me...
I've never cheated on a boyfriend, and I'm really proud of it!!!!!! I don't understand why everyone else seems to have such a problem with it...
I came into this world ass first, according to my parents. My mom had a c section, and I came into this world the same way I move through it. loljk
Je peus parler francais courament, in fact my last name was americanized from Labonte, but I am part Iroquois as well as Black. Thank Buddha I can pass for white!
I was related to John Denver, before his tragic plane crash.
I do, in fact, have a genius level IQ, and it has actually gone up at about a rate of 2 points per year for the past 6 years, in spite of being a college drop out, and a HUGE stoner who will never amount to anything.
I have had plastic surgery, and plan on getting A LOT more, as soon as technology catches up to my vision.
I've always had a thing for razor blades. I swear to god psychologists don't know what's up when they discourage patients from self-mutilation.
I am not now, never will be, nor have ever been a democrat. In fact, I don't think democracy works even in theory, and find myself sympathizing with anarchy. I've only been affiliated with one political party in my entire life, The Green Party.
we all I know I HATE politics
...and that's why I'm not a politician! Anyways, today on the bus, a bum I recognized oozed his way onto the muni, and pretty quickly started to dive into a loud and vehement political rant (which wasn't directed at anyone in particular). To summarize:
-> Obama will not stop the drug war, the war against the poor, or pull troops out from overseas
-> established power systems (the elite, beaurocracy, political actors)will never disappear, "change" will not be coming to America when it comes to who has the money, power, and influence
-> the economy will continue to get worse, there's no way to put back money that doesn't exist and never existed in the first place
-> Obama is bought and sold just like every other politician, catering to interest groups and corporations
-> basically, we're all full or hope and change for the future but Obama is no different from Mccain.
----
Not my words, but I'd have to agree! I'd just like to say I'm registered with the green party, but backed Hilary 100% and nothing would have made me feel safer and more secure than her as the president :D
It was hilarious, if not for the fact that this old, white, broken down bum was making all the Asians on the bus HELLA nervous! I don't understand why the minute people start to speak the truth, everyone starts to freak out
news
Red (Planet) Alert: Massive Subsurface Glaciers Discovered on Mars
Surface-penetrating radar reveals features composed of ice, not rock
San Francisco enters Agassi's electric car dream
Astronauts Conduct Second Spacewalk, Continue Repairs On Space Station
have you voted yet?
| Hottest Hookup | Biggest Breakup |
| Lindsay Lohan and Sa... | Madonna and Guy Ritc... |
| Favorite Jonas | Breakout Star of the Year |
| Baddest Bad Girl | Biggest Scandal |
| Best Dressed | Worst Dressed |
| Hottest Hottie | Cutest Celebuspawn |
| Most Improved | Worst Trainwreck |
| Most DVR-worthy Series | Biggest Box Office Blowout |
| Celeb of the Year | |
| Angelina Jolie | |
Go to PerezHilton.com to vote!
11/19/08
800th post!!!!!
the secret superiority of pigeons
I grew up in the suburbs, and in all honesty, I didn't have any real contact with pigeons on a somewhat regular basis until I moved to San Francisco. Sure, outside of urban areas you can find them outside just as you can find any common rural/urban animal such as squirrels, ants, cockroaches, black birds, or seagulls; since suburban areas provide a much larger environment, you don't see pigeons every time you leave your house. Although I don't see them or notice them on a daily basis even in San Francisco, it's impossible to ignore the obvious fact that I've noticed observable changes in populations over short time I've lived in San Francisco (thesis).
I'm amazed to think of what these animals consume to actually survive. I've seen them eating vomit from bums (which is probably composed of a mix of hard drugs, booze, and fast food- seems like the only shit bums can afford in the first place). One can find them both in really urban areas made almost exclusively made of concrete with just small patched of green and trees here and there (island biogeography). So, to make a long story short, they can basically east just about anything, and live just about anywhere. Amazing. Because of these facts, pigeons demonstrate super hardiness. They might have not been so well adapted in the past, and the species might not always be so well adapted in the future, but their current evolutionary state makes them potentially really valuable to science. They've been able to somehow ward of the rapid evolution of bacteria and viruses, the elements, climate change, as well as evolve their metabolism to metabolize matter that several generations ago, did not exist in the present and omnipresent "golden age of processed foods."
In short, pigeons are demonstrating rapid evolution, unlike the current state of the human species. I know, because I've noticed changes in species that are taking place in front of my very eyes. Even though I absolutely despise pigeons, I am inspired by the fact that this form of life, although ruthless and in many ways primordial, is so strong that it just won't disappear. The hard life of a pigeon insures that only the best most relevant genes will be passed to the future generations, and on a superficial level, one can observe lots more "salt and pepper" pigeons sprouting up, in addition to reddish/brownish ones, and the new and unique all black pigeon.
In humans, inferior genes are passed to future generations in frequencies unheard of throughout the evolutionary history of the species. Modern medicine, modern convenience, and modern technology has made it possible for just about anyone to survive, in spite of the fate written into their genes, so humans are no longer a good model for evolution, in a sense we have taken control of our evolution, and decided as a species to allow inferior genes to have a permanent place in the gene pool.
thanks Perez!
Boycott this theater! donated money towards yes on 8, yet still instend to profit from the new movie Milk.
The CEO of Cinemark, Alan Stock,
donated $9999 to the Yes on 8 Campaign, but
will now profit from showing MILK in his theaters.
If 1,000 of us commit to see MILK at a competitor’s theater
instead of Cinemark, at an average cost of $10 per ticket,
that’s $10,000 of lost revenue.
Update: We’ve hit 1,000!
As of sunday evening, we have exceeded 1,000 facebook members who have joined our cause!
But it’s just a start—we need to keep going to make the biggest impact we can. Our new goal is 10,000 members—This is aggressive but we think it’s possible. Let’s keep it going!
Boycotts work. A boycott of a Sacramento theatre company
resulted not only in the resignation of a Yes on 8 contributor,
but a public apology and donation to Human Rights
Campaign! We can do this again.
You can find an alterative theater using the links on the
left, and join our facebook group below to spread the word!
Help us reach 1000 members so we can send a message to Mr. Stock: YOU WILL NOT PROFIT FROM HATE.
Join Our Facebook Group Now!
11/18/08
too bad I didn't go...
[SALT] Terms of biocontainment (Synthetic Biology debate) Inbox X
Stewart Brand to salt
show details 11:02 AM (8 hours ago)
Reply
"I want to develop tools that make biology easy to engineer," Drew Endy began. The first purpose is better understanding fundamental biological mechanisms through "learning by building." The toolkit of Synthetic Biology starts with DNA construction and ascends through DNA parts, to devices, to standardized systems. An organism's DNA code, and therefore the organism, can be digitally uploaded, stored, distributed, and downloaded. Life forms are programmable. So far 3,500 standard "BioBrick" parts have been developed for free distribution, and the number is growing geometrically. The number of amateur and student bioengineers also is growing geometicallly.
"There are 20,000 edible plant species," Endy noted. "At present we eat only 30." Synthetic biology can help diversify agriculture. Or how about engineering a gourd that can grow into a living house?
Endy concluded with five questions... Should teenagers practice genetic engineering? (Yes.) Should military weapons involve biotechnology? (No.) Should BioBrick parts be patented or freely shared? (Free.) Will biohackers be good or bad? (Good, if we help.) Should genetic engineers sign their work and publish it? (Yes.)
Jim Thomas asked Endy how he would defend against commercial interests locking up Synthetic Biology with patents? Endy said the best hope is building an open-source community that grows faster than businesses and out-innovates them.
Thomas began his statement by pointing out that it usually takes a whole generation to understand a new technology, so he urges moving slowly and cautiously, but Synthetic Biology is advancing at breakneck speed, and the window of opportunity to have effective public discussion and control is closing.
He cited the history of synthetic chemicals, which began in mid-19th century. The technology quickly became highly concentrated in an oligarchy of monopolistic companies, and then it was easliy commandeered by government in wartime. I.G. Farben supplied the poison gas for the death camps. "Powerful technology in an unjust world is likely to exacerbate the injustice."
Thomas said he worries when he hears comments like, "Anything that can be made by a plant can be made by a microbe." If that's played out, it means the death knell for everyone who works in agriculture, a vast economic restructuring. There's so much novelty coming so fast from Synthetic Biology, no predictive models or regulatory models can hold them. He recommends these new tools be strictly contained so there is no release of new life forms into the biosphere, and there should be no commercialization of the technology at all.
Endy asked Thomas if it's okay to make anything in a bioreactor vat? Thomas said, "Yes, beer."
For different reasons, both debaters wanted to see Synthetic Biology kept from domination by commercial patents. For Thomas, it would lead to unjust monopoly answering only to profit. For Endy, it would paralyze open-ended research.
--Stewart Brand
--
Stewart Brand -- sb@gbn.org
The Long Now Foundation - http://www.longnow.org
Seminars & downloads: http://www.longnow.org/projects/seminars/
news
Below is an article from last week's Science News. This is major good news for telomere biology and telomerase activators. T.A. Sciences believes that this is a seminal study of historic proportions. It is the first time it has been shown that telomerase activation extends the lifespan of mammals.
Telomere enzyme a likely key to longevity
By Patrick Barry
Web edition : Thursday, November 13th, 2008
Study gives mice a longevity boost without high cancer risk. A new experiment suggests that the enzyme telomerase can extend the lifespan of mice by about 24 percent.
Some cells can keep dividing forever, essentially becoming immortal thanks in part to telomerase. But evidence for whether this enzyme affects aging and longevity in larger organisms such as people has been muddled and contradictory.
While the enzyme enables cells to keep dividing, it also takes cells one step closer to growing and proliferating out of control - that is, becoming cancerous. Lab animals with extra genes for telomerase often die young from tumors.
Reporting in the Nov. 14 Cell, researchers in Spain engineered mice to have not only an extra copy of the gene for telomerase, but also extra anti-tumor genes to combat the enzyme's cancer-causing potential. In the altered mice, signs of aging such as poor coordination or degraded tissue health were delayed compared to mice that had only the extra copies of anti-tumor genes, the team reports.
"These observations demonstrate the anti-aging effects of telomerase in ... living organisms," Maria Blasco of the Molecular Oncology Program at the Spanish National Cancer Research Center in Madrid and her colleagues write in the report.
Telomerase lengthens telomeres - the "caps" on the end of chromosomes that protect DNA from damage. Like burning fuses, telomeres normally get shorter each time that most body cells divide. After a certain number of divisions, the telomeres in the daughter cells become too short and the chromosomes start to degrade, thus preventing the cells from dividing any further. So this shortening of telomeres places a limit on the number of times that most body cells can divide, the so-called Hayflick limit.
Telomerase enables the cell to divide indefinitely by adding back the bit of telomere lost during each cell division, essentially keeping the fuse from burning. Previous research has shown that adding an active copy of the telomerase gene to human cells causes those cells to surpass the Hayflick limit and apparently divide without end. But people with longer telomeres don't necessarily live any longer than people with short telomeres do, so evidence for a link with lifespan has been fuzzy.
Leonard Hayflick, the biogerontologist who in 1961 discovered the limit on cell division that bears his name, says he agrees that the new research shows that telomerase can affect longevity in mice. But he doubts the scientists' claim that the enzyme affects the actual rate of aging.
The problem, Hayflick says, is how to measure that rate. Blasco's team tested a series of traits that might be thought of as associated with aging: whether the mice had enough coordination to walk across a rope, the health of the mice's skin and small intestines, the mice's sensitivity to insulin and glucose, concentrations of insulinlike growth factor-1 in the blood and, of course, average telomere length. In each of these cases, mice with the extra telomerase gene performed more like youthful mice than those with only the anti-tumor genes. But these tests may or may not reflect the actual rate of aging, Hayflick says.
"They're about as bad as looking at gray hair," says Hayflick, who is a professor of anatomy at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine. "Look at me. I'm 80 years old and my hair's still black."
A lack of reliable, agreed-upon ways to measure the rate of aging is a problem for the whole field of aging research, Hayflick says, not just for this study. Longevity - how long an animal lives - is less ambiguous. While the question still is not settled, Hayflick says, "A strengthening case has been made on the role of telomeres in affecting longevity."
To see the actual publication please click on the link below:
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/38552/title/Telomere_enzyme_a_likely_key_to_longevity
11/17/08
news
Repairing the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) near Geneva will cost almost £14m ($21m) and "realistically" take until at least next summer to start back up.
A Chinese-born scientist, Quan-Sheng Shu, 68, plead guilty to illegally selling rocket technology to China’s Communist regime.
Assisted Reproductive Technology Linked to Birth Defects
7 Facts You Need to Know About HPV and Gardasil
11/16/08
11/15/08
groundbreaking HIV news
Doctors in Berlin are reporting that they cured a man of AIDS by
giving him transplanted blood stem cells from a person naturally resistant to the virus.
Doctors in Berlin are reporting that they cured a man of AIDS by
giving him transplanted blood stem cells from a person naturally
resistant to the virus.
->OMFG, HAVEN'T I BEEN SAYING THIS WHOLE TIME GENOMIC MEDICINE CAN CURE HIV?!?!
I keep getting beaten out on my theories. I want to be the first! The first is the only one who matters!
--- c/p
There are individuals in all the worlds different populations who possess a natural immunity to HIV. Is this called selective retention? I might be wrong, and I can't easily find a clear answer when looking it up on the internet. Ironically, the populations with the highest natural immunity to HIV are Scandinavian countries (don't be fooled, it's under 1%) whereas the areas with the lowest natural immunity all happen to be in Africa.
To make a long story short, these people have a genetic mutation which changes the confirmation of the outside protein of the immune system's Killer T cells. This mutation causes no side affects to the mutated individuals and they lead totally normal lives, if HIV had never occurred this rare mutation would most likely not have been discovered yet, since there would be no reason to look for it (perhaps it would have been discovered through the completion of the Human genome Project). This protein happens to be the one that HIV latches onto in average people, causing death from AIDS.
As I think about this, which I often do, I being to wonder about these individuals who do possess natural immunity-
These people are very lucky! But, at the same time I being to wonder if the virus exists forever inside their bodies, then are they carriers?
Since a virus is already non-living, does that mean nothing would happen to it, and it would float around in the blood and tissues? I guess in all fairness I should say that it's very possible that there might be a very very very small amount (concentration) of the virus in the body, unless they had been having lots of sex with lots of infected partners, in which case they could get filled up with the HIV virus, but never receive any of the affects, since they themselves are immune. Fill me up with your AIDS jizz.
on a side note- These individuals are an example of evolution- their genes have been expressed when they under normal circumstances would have been taken out of the gene pool. This causes a change in a population of organisms, which is defined as evolution.
I always wonder why people try and say it doesn't exist? I've seen it happen before my eyes, it's observable. Open your eyes.
***
It's inspiring to know that there will always be a few left behind, no matter what happens (in regards to pandemics).
Maybe it's going to be me?
-> bad news at 6/09/2008 06:24:00 pm
11/14/08
degradation/ breakdown/ inefficiency/ antiquity of the family unit
It seems like for most of recorded history, people lived in small
bands of people, who over time, came together to form micro cultures,
probably do to commonalities those "individuals" had at the time. I'm
trying to pinpoint a time when a family type structure became the most
efficient way for humans to pass on their genes to the next
generation. I guess it's not really possible, and it doesn't even
matter because the family unit is already a thing of the past.
The perfect family is what everyone wants...but that fantasy of
perfection is far from reality. The notion that other people will love
and support you in spite of everything are comforting, yet not
reality.
These ideals of functioning nuclear families seem mostly constructed
thanks to disney and 50s "pop ethics," when christianity started to
get forced on people through new media at the time, mainly movies and
the invention of the television. Although they are fun and interesting
from an anthropological perspective, they are now a thing of the past.
It's not the 90s anymore, and people know that the nuclear family
model isn't reality. Forever never existed, and "for the rest of our
lives" was uttered in tongue in cheek way in the first place.
Couples today rarely stay together because they don't have to. That is
to say people are getting more real about love and accepting the fact
that the fantasy of pure real love was not only a lie our parents told
us, it's not even humanly possible. Obviously everyone wants to meet
the perfect person, fall in love, and then spend the rest of their
lives together, but nobody does it, I guess people have their reasons.
There's all those studies that say humans are by nature not
monogamous, and and since no family looks like the culturally
constructed paradigm, the family structure is hence becoming a thing
of the past. It seems like when the parents stay together, they're
miserable and dysfunctional, and they always stop having sex, which is
what brought 2 people together in the first place. With the absence of
passion, intimacy falls by the way side and it makes sense. "Why
should I give a shit about someone if the newness has worn off and I'm
no longer attracted/ want to fuck them anymore?"
It seems like families only cause problems. The older generation, no
longer able to contribute anything to the world, starts to drain more
and more resources. I often wonder why we choose to "respect" the
elderly cause I think they're fucking disgusting. After all, they're
the generation that INVENTED homophobia, created the evil empire of
american capitalism that holds so many people in bondage, resisted
progress, ruined the environment... do you really want to go on? I
guess I'm one of those people who only respects other if they're worth
it.
Besides, western culture worships youth as the most important source
of power nowadays, so it seems like veneration for the elderly will
soon be replaced with contempt and disrespect. There's nothing they
can do for us any longer... just let them die, and bury the dead hand
of the past with them. Does everyone really want to relive trivial
histories and struggles from the past? One can't argue history is
relevant, if it were there would have been only one conflict, one
problem, one genocide, one indiscretion.
In families, the older becomes dependent on the younger, who are
expected to take care of them. If anyone thinks I'm going to take care
of my parents, especially in monetary terms, they're fucking crazy. I
could give a fuck less what happens to them. It's weird when money
comes into play, because it just makes people's motivations more
transparent. Perhaps the reason would be pure self-interest, but then
again I never got a fair shot at success, which is why I'm
unsuccessful, and I know money does not have to be shared among family
members.
Love doesn't mean all your problems will all of a sudden disappear, in
fact the opposite is true, and the people you love have problems that
all of a sudden become your additional problems piled on top of the
previously existing ones. Love between family members is an emotion
automatically assumed to be true in society, but as we can observe
both in our own lives, as well as in the lives of those humans living
in other cultures in other places around the world, the love may or
may not be real. Often, love is twisted and used for dubious means,
like covering up sexual abuse, or to support people's addictions to
hard drugs such as speed or crack.
It makes me sad to everyone around me coming from fractured families.
The only modern comfort comes from money. Is money the only real
factor as to what will decided people's happiness and success, or dark
feelings and perpetual failure? I guess living in a metropolitan city,
I can observe the new ways people choose to make families. It's weird
how people find their other family members, but since it was
self-determined, it's the only thing that's real...
11/13/08
news
Groundbreaking News about Telomerase Activation!
UCLA on Nov.10 announced groundbreaking pre-clinical data on TAT2, a small molecule telomerase activator.
This study was conducted by Professor Rita B. Effros at UCLA and collaborating scientists from the Geron Corporation. It will be printed in The Journal of Immunology on November 15 2008. Past research concludes that individuals with high white blood cell telomerase activity have enhanced immune function. TAT2 was shown in this study to increase telomerase and similarly strengthen the immune system. This peer reviewed paper demonstrates the potential of products that can activate telomerase.
As the licensee of Geron's anti-aging technology for activating telomerase, T.A. Sciences congratulates Geron and Professor Effros on this exciting new scientific research.
For further information click on the following links:
http://www.geron.com/media/pressview.aspx?id=857
http://www.newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/researchers-use-chemical-from-71498.aspx
www.jimmunol.org/cgi/content/full/181/10/7400
Noel Thomas Patton
Telomerase Activation Sciences, Inc.
11/11/08
news via google news
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch group Philips has developed an
"intelligent pill" that contains a microprocessor, battery, wireless
radio, pump and a drug reservoir to release medication in a specific
area in the body.
NASA officially brought the Phoenix mission to a close, as the U.S.
space agency will cease operations and officially declare an end to
the mission five months after it explored Mars.
The $428 million mission was originally scheduled for a three-month
mission, but NASA was able to give it two extensions before the harsh
Martian environment finally claimed it. It has helped collect data on
the northern arctic Martian plains, while helping collect valuable
data that can be used for future missions.
You can Google to get a hotel, find a flight and buy a book. Now you
may be able to use Google to avoid the flu.
