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SARS and the Internet
AndroidCat writes "In this story scientists who cracked SARS' genetic code credit the Internet as a key: 'The Internet has had a profound impact on how this data has been shared and how scientists have collaborated.' The Internet has also been useful in containing the outbreak by facilitating online discussion by ER doctors. Not mentioned in the stories is that Toronto researchers who were in quarantine were able to stay in touch. Slashdot has also covered Distributed Computing Attacking SARS. Go Internet!"
When the telephone first came into widespread use did newspapers write articles about how the phone helped this or facilitated that?
What I'm really asking is why is this news? The Internet, designed for communication, has helped people communicate. I don't see this as a huge breakthrough.
This is where the 'net was originally useful. Things like (cyber) virus transmissions, playing games and selling stuff were add-ons. Ain't nothing wrong with commercial uses of the internet -- It's just a misunderstanding for new users that (mostly unimaginative) commercial use was anything close to it's original intent.
OS Software is like love: The best way to make it grow is to give it away.
They did a special issue back in the '90s, which was essentially a theoretical copy of Wired from about 20-ish years in the future. At any rate, one of the stories was about how mankind was almost wiped out by this horrific plague...which originated in China, interestingly enough...and the massive social change that resulted from it. There were two keys to developing a cure, in the story, one of them being that we'd cracked the human genome, which gave us an edge on understanding the virus' interaction with our DNA. The other key was the internet, because it allowed the remaining surviving researchers to collaboarate without physical proximity or risk of contagion. You see, most of the medical research community had been wiped out when they gathered for an emergency global conference...the disease was horrifically contagious. I wish I still had a copy of that issue, it was amazing.
For your security, this post has been encrypted with ROT-13, twice.
Let me report the situation in Hong Kong. Perhaps this is the first regional economic hub to be affected, and well, it got hit pretty hard.
The tourism industry is down by 70%, restaurants, bars and popular entertainment spots, well, empty as people are staying at home.
However, there are industries that are surfing tidal waves that's sweeping the economy; and Internet has been one of them.
I just called the sales manager of our service provider, and business has never been so good in years! This is due to companies that's cancelling their business trips and meetings, conferences, etc has to be done online. Phones have been ringing non-stop, with queries from companies to speed up and upgrade their internet access. I guess that's the break that all these internet companies have been waiting for!!!
People suspected of contracting SARS are quarantined for 10 days; but communicate with their families via videophone donated by the telecommunication companies and the government.
Technology has never found better use, and importance!
Also enjoying boom are, the facemask industry, the herbal medicine industry (chinese herbs which are slow stock for a few years have been wiped out by hungry consumers), television industry, and, the food snack (instant noodles, etc).
Perhaps this is the break that this fast-paced region needs: some time to rest, breathe easy for a while. It isn't long before the pace picks up again and everything resumes to normal!
HKSAR territory resident, SARS-free for 5 weeks...
I live in Malaysia, which is relatively safe from SARS
I wouldn't really proclaim that it's "relatively safe from SARS" : All it takes it one infected person. Toronto (I am sitting in a building beside First Canadian Place in downtown Toronto right now...ground zero, if you will, of the Canadian epidemic) has suffered billions of dollars of economic damage, and some 23 deaths, because one sneezing person came home from a visit to Hong Kong. No one is safe from SARS, and the reality is that after we've got the vectors from the first person (which has largely been heroic health care staff who deserve tremendous respect), it's only a plane ride away from the next guy, and then it's all started again. For those who thought this was just a disease the elderly should worry about (as a hilarious Daily Show humored "If you're 80 with respiratory illness, you should make your peace with God before you go around licking doorknobs"), note that here in Toronto we've had a 39 and a 44 year old, both with no other reported medical conditions, die from SARS.
BTW: For those who think asking some questions at the airport, or doing thermal scans, are protection, realize that while they're better than nothing, they really are more of an illusion of safety than a true protection: They depend upon a person to be in a very specific state of the disease to be evident, but it's still extremely likely to get by in prior or latter stages, at which point it starts all over again. Why Toronto got hit hard while other cities didn't is largely a result of blind (bad) luck than anything else.
Thankfully the virus suspected, the coronavirus, they have had some success making vaccines for (unlike most other virses), so there is hope against this disease that is currently causing about a 6-7% death rate, and some claim that a vaccine is right around the corner. That'll hold us over until the next disease filters out of the "intensive livestock" of the provinces of China which has been quite effective at incompetently exporting weapons of mass destruction.
So what's BC's excuse for not sharing that information with Toronto?
Tuus crepidae innexilis sunt.
I don't know about you guys but since the SARS scare, I've been checking out for deals to go to Toronto. Some people might say I'm crazy, but hey! Check this out: Free Trip to T.O.
Think like a man of action, act like a man of thought.
Originally (say before the www), only geeks/researchers/academics used the internet. Finding information was hard, but what was there was good. You needn't have had to worry about worms, spam, trolls, keeping down the noise etc. Today, everyone uses the internet. There's a helluva lot more information online than was 10 years ago, but it is buried in commercial noise. So, it is still largely the geeks/researchers for whom the internet is a life-changing and profession-changing thing. For the rest of the world, it is mostly an entertainment and advertisement medium.
Err, why would BC think they had to? They're separate health ministries, and it's up to Toronto to keep themselves informed. I'm sure if the BC health ministry knew Toronto was in the dark, they would have warned them, but they were privy to the same information. The difference is that BC heeded the various warnings that were coming out of Asia, whereas Toronto either didn't notice or didn't heed those warnings.
Keep in mind, the other major factor to BC's relative success in the SARS outbreak was it's response. They chose to be highly proactive about any potential outbreaks. They ensured that doctors were warned ahead of time, and dictated a strict policy for how to handle potential cases (immediate quarantine). The Ontario health ministry didn't take these measures. Why, I don't know. Maybe they didn't know what was going on. Maybe they just didn't take it seriously enough. Either way, Ontario's initial failure was their own responsibility. Hopefully they've learned a lesson from all of this.
Meh, they have no idea. The Internet is an extremely useful source of information. Any time I need to know something, I just head to the 'Net.
Here are some examples of what I've used the Internet for (besides all the programming and normal computer junk I do):
- I wanted to know how to make those hollow egg shell decorations for Easter. Looked it up on the 'Net.
- Someone asked me if I knew how to spell chlamydia (I could hardly guess how to spell it; thanks Google) and if it was a bacterial infection. Looked it up on the 'Net.
- I needed the blue book value of several cars I was helping a friend look for. Head to the 'Net.
- I needed some tax forms from the IRS and my state. They're all on the 'Net.
- Tons of DMV stuff can be done on the 'Net. license renewalls have never been so quick and easy.
- I needed some hummingbird pictures for a nephew who is learning to paint and needed some color samples.
- I do almost all my shopping online (especially for gifts). No more travelling 20 miles to find they don't even stock what I was looking for.
- I got a weird engine check code on my car and needed to know how to fix it. Online forums are great.
- I got more information on the Pony Express Rally that I plan on competing in next year.
- I wanted to set up an official sized vollyball court in my backyard and got the dimensions on the 'Net.
And that's just in the past few days/weeks. I could go on and on.
I find the 'Net invaluable.
The ratio of people to cake is too big
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