powderhound Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 So recently in the news we have seen the Swine Flu which is and will be hyped just as much as the Bird Flu but, here is what I am wondering...when will we see the next GLOBAL disease epidemic? We haven't seen a mass death from an epidemic since the 1940's during the end of WWII. I may just have a glass getting bout empty view, but, I just don't have the faith that science can keep outpacing evolution. Millions died in the 1940's; what will happen next time after years of suppresion. -just a thought.... parents got home from mexico yesterday, seem fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astrov Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 http://www.amazon.com/Coming-Plague-Emerging-Diseases-Balance/dp/0140250913 Done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STP Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 Yeah, those viruses are strange entities. This strain of "swine" flu actually has material from human, pig, and bird species. Considering that evolution is not goal-oriented in the sense of end design prior to change, it's amazing to the see the effects of natural selection and lateral gene transfer together in forming a new entity that persists. With viruses it is essential however that a host survives so that it can hijack its cells to manufacture more viruses. Propagation without detection is enhanced by long incubation time and the existence of asymptomatic carriers. These characteristics could actually assist in that strain of virus to persist in time. For instance, if there were a virus that affected racial types more readily than others (there has been some anecdotal evidence that there is some limited immunity to the HIV virus in whites. And although a different disease vector, if you look at the case of malaria, the sickle cell deficiency yields some protection from that malady.). So, the virus could assist in allowing preferential selection of a particular phenotypic expression of a genotype. In other words, the virus can have the effect of producing a Nazi wet dream. With the mutation speed of microbes, it's a wonder that they haven't outpaced their hosts, thus causing their extinction. Makes you wonder if possibly there is some "intelligence" operating at some level. Their "protean" nature actually appears, not as their demise, but as a survival mechanism as long as organic life, itself, persists. That signals that maybe these "simplistic" entities aren't necessarily primitive but rather highly efficient propagators and as such are a type of "higher" entity. Perhaps we will produce the vectors (space vehicles) that will serve to spread our viruses so that they can infect organic cellular life on other worlds. Maybe it's a matter of coevolution involving the emergence of intelligent life among eukaryotes, the eventual evolution of technology, and the recombinant genetic mechanism provided by the virus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlpineK Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 Viruses may be only a small part of the big picture. [video:youtube]uZIfyXc8RWk&feature=related Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STP Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 Yeah but the problem is that the sun has been uncharacteristically quiet. The 11 year periodicity of the solar cycle appears to have a blip. Solar Cycle 24 has officially started or has it? Examining SORCE data shows the Sun continues its slide toward somnolence Maybe the end of Al Gore? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlpineK Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 Maybe, I've had enough of political speculation for now though. Trying to figure out what the Mayans were trying to say is way more fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G-spotter Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 With the mutation speed of microbes, it's a wonder that they haven't outpaced their hosts, thus causing their extinction. Makes you wonder if possibly there is some "intelligence" operating at some level. Their "protean" nature actually appears, not as their demise, but as a survival mechanism as long as organic life, itself, persists. That signals that maybe these "simplistic" entities aren't necessarily primitive but rather highly efficient propagators and as such are a type of "higher" entity. Perhaps we will produce the vectors (space vehicles) that will serve to spread our viruses so that they can infect organic cellular life on other worlds. Maybe it's a matter of coevolution involving the emergence of intelligent life among eukaryotes, the eventual evolution of technology, and the recombinant genetic mechanism provided by the virus. I'm submitting this paragraph: http://www.unnecessaryquotes.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astrov Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 Their "protean" nature actually appears, not as their demise, but as a survival mechanism as long as organic life, itself, persists. That signals that maybe these "simplistic" entities aren't necessarily primitive but rather highly efficient propagators and as such are a type of "higher" entity. Efficient propagation doesn't imply higher intelligence. Take the Palin family, for example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STP Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 Doh! I'm channelling Chris Farley as Bennett Brauer. http://www.hulu.com/watch/2331/saturday-night-live-update---bennett-brauer But it passed the STupidfilter: Stupidfilter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairweather Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 So recently in the news we have seen the Swine Flu which is and will be hyped just as much as the Bird Flu but, here is what I am wondering...when will we see the next GLOBAL disease epidemic? We haven't seen a mass death from an epidemic since the 1940's during the end of WWII. I may just have a glass getting bout empty view, but, I just don't have the faith that science can keep outpacing evolution. Millions died in the 1940's; what will happen next time after years of suppresion. -just a thought.... parents got home from mexico yesterday, seem fine. Somewhere between 20 and fifty million died in the global pandemic that started near the end of world war I, and lasted until about 1920. The next pandemic (much smaller scale) wasn't until 1957. What is scary about this Mexico outbreak is that it has killed 20-40 year olds with healthy immune systems almost exclusively--just like the Spanish Flu outbreak--indicating that a cytokine storm may be killing its victims. Scary shit. I'm curious, though, why you would refer to the possibility of a pandemic as a "cleansing"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderhound Posted April 26, 2009 Author Share Posted April 26, 2009 Thanks for the correction, I wasn't quite sure if it was WW1 or 2. The cleansing comment is mostly to stir britches and make a play on words that might incite more debate/conversation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STP Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 Periodical Invasions Of Aliens See also the section titled: Indications of correlations in human ecology. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunspot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
powderhound Posted April 26, 2009 Author Share Posted April 26, 2009 what is that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STP Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 correlation (but not necessarily causuality) between flu pandemics and solar cycle activity Goggle "virus" "solar cycle". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvashtarkatena Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 The Mexican outbreak was clearly caused by a more vigorous vaccination program and the gun control laws of 1968 in that country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvashtarkatena Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 correlation (but not necessarily causuality) between flu pandemics and solar cycle activity Goggle "virus" "solar cycle". Welding goggles are recommended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 The Mexican outbreak was clearly caused by a more vigorous vaccination program and the gun control laws of 1968 in that country. I bet a healthy dose of federal deregulation would clear this little flu-problem up. Fucking libtards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvashtarkatena Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 Viruses may be only a small part of the big picture. [video:youtube]uZIfyXc8RWk&feature=related Guess I won't bother Christmas shopping that year Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bug Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 Hm. And I was thinking about putting you on my christmas list that year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete_H Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 If you put SARS and the Swine Flu in a jar and had them fight who would win? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvashtarkatena Posted April 27, 2009 Share Posted April 27, 2009 The Mayans predicted within 3 flushes that toilets will begin to swirl clockwise on December 23, 2012. This reverse polarity swirl is the final cosmological sign that a millenium of dark, hard stool is upon us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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