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!"

Comments

SARS

[ergonal]

Speaking of SARS, check this out.

Re:SARS

[3.5 stripes]

Damn, that's pretty funny, not too PC, but still.

Re:SARS

[Anonymous Coward]

Check this out as well.
+5, funny!

Re:SARS

[Anonymous Coward]

Few more here too

Re:SARS

[Anonymous Coward]

nothing funny about people dying. and lots of people living in quarantine. even though you probably cannot help them, please show some respect to those in dire situations.

thanks.

Re:SARS

[PaxTech]

That isn't funny, SARS should be taken very seriously. You won't think it's funny if you get it and have only a 98% chance of survival.

If it continues to spread and infects us all, only 98% of us will be left alive.. Oh the humanity.

Re:SARS

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah, 120,000,000 deaths wouldn't be noticed at all.

See, the Internet is good for something

[flynt]

I often here friends and collegues disgusted by the Internet, or simply bored by it. There's nothing to do on it they claim except play some games, check a few popular web sites, instant message, etc. I always claim to them that the Internet still finds a tremendous use in the research community, stories like this confirm my findings. The Internet is only as limited as your imagination I guess. If you have an interest in anything academic, the Internet can certainly help you stray abreast of the major topics and discussions in a timely matter.

Re:See, the Internet is good for something

[Anonymous Coward]

Beware of the stray abreasts. They're aflopping all around.

Re:See, the Internet is good for something

[TrippTDF]

The internet is still so young! It's going to be years before we realize the full potential of it. I think that SARS research, SETI and others are just the beginning of a much bigger picture, a picture that's very hard to predict. Who would have thought ten years ago when we talked about the "information superhighway" that we were going to be using the internet to cure diseases with distributed computing?

Information is power- it has been for a long time. The ability to send, receive, and process information instantaneously is really, really incredible. The more people realize this and come up with new, creative ways of using the internet and computers, the better.

Also, you can't beat all the amazing porn out there...

Re:See, the Internet is good for something

[Black Copter Control]

I always claim to them that the Internet still finds a tremendous use in the research community, stories like this confirm my findings.

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.

Re:See, the Internet is good for something

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, the reality is that parents who have decided it is in their interests to run this type of a site as a Home Based Business, are not going to be talked out of it by words. It will take new laws, or unfortunately, a tragedy.
This is NOT comparable to a 17 yr old girl walking down the beach. This is about pre-pubescent girls, in riduculous fetishistic clothes, in poses from the Madonna Sex book, or even ones where there hand is in between their legs, etc. Images from adult porn.

On top of this, you have the web-chats, merchandising, Relationship Marketing, relationship building between the man and the girl, selling of the childs worn clothes, men going out and i guess shopping aroumd for clothes that are just the right size and fits his child clothes fetish, private photo shoots, videos, DVD's, expensive gifts for the children, and many other things.

Its not about Thought Police. Wackos are going to think their dangerous thoughts. That is reality. Its about the OPPOSITE of Thought Police. Its about PROTECTING CHILDREN FROM EXPLOITATION. Children used to be used as expendable laborers 100 years ago, and still are in many areas of the world. Child Labor. And i presume there is rampant child prostitution, and even child sexual slavery in this world. This is MUCH closer to Child Labor, and Child Prositition, than it is to a girl walking down the beach! Its not about Thought Police. Its about Child Protection from deviant and dangerous humans.

I saw a documentary on a 16 yr old girl who was running a pay by the minute Webcam from her bedroom! (they call themselves Cam-Girls, or Cam-Whores). Her mother seemed in total DENIAL, as usual, and the girl was VERY realistic. She knew what was going on, to a degree. BUT, the GIFTS she was getting from men were unbelievable. Worth THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS of dollars. DVD collection, clothes, jewellry, etc. Anything she asked for, men would buy for her, in EXCHANGE for a certain pose, or even for showing just her FEET on the webcam for 20 minutes, etc! This 16 yr old girl knew these guys were wackos, BUT she just wants the free stuff. She doesn't know how dangerous some people can be. POOR JUDGEMENT. And the mother, in that case, seemed to think that they were there for her daughters WEBLOG, or something. Total Denial.

But those who are out to make a buck could care less about all this. Its all about, "SHOW ME THE MONEY!" It is steps away from child prostitution.

Re:See, the Internet is good for something

[Anonymous Coward]

Uh hello. -1 offtopic.

Re:See, the Internet is good for something

[arvindn]

In a way, little has changed.

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.

Re:See, the Internet is good for something

[passion]

These are probably the same people who sit around on their couch watching TV complaining that there's nothing to do in the world, and that they've got a crappy life.

Dude - get out and have an adventure, try to get something accomplished, experience and enjoy life while you've got it. The internet has just as many things to choose from, including publishing your own content.

I generally find that I don't have enough time to do & read all the things that I'd like to.

Re:See, the Internet is good for something

[pmz]

I often here friends and collegues disgusted by the Internet, or simply bored by it. There's nothing to do on it they claim except play some games, check a few popular web sites, instant message, etc.

I think a lot of people are taking the Internet for granted. E-Mail, in spite of SPAM, has revolutionized business (it's like a phone call with automatic transcription, very useful). Sites like Slashdot, in spite of trolls, stupid people, and repeat articles, are informative with quick feedback about problems with articles (taken as a whole, it is decent journalism when read properly). Websites are now the de facto method for distributing product documentation, user manuals, and catalogs (no more waiting 6 weeks for a lost user manual). Google can provide instant answers to questions (what kind of snake did we see at the park? what are the unofficial jumper settingss for my mobo? what are common experiences with product X?).

There is one downside to the internet: volume. Try searching for a particular type of software and find 1000 companies selling their "solution" for all your problems. Try searching for a job and realize that there are literally thousands of job websites out there.

Sometimes, the Internet makes me feel big; other times, it makes me feel really really small.

Re:See, the Internet is good for something

[dj28]

Actually, academic research wasn't anything close to its original intent either. It was originally designed to be a survivable network for the US government in the event of a nuclear attack from the Soviet Union. Academic use of the internet was an add-on.

Re:See, the Internet is good for something

[Peterus7]

Actually, more and more people in the medical and possibly the scientific field (I only work with medical types) are breaking out into the internet. The thing is if you get over all the capitalistic nonsense spewed out on it, you get a really good way to communicate... If you can get past the spam and banner ads and adware and popups and spyware and...

Re:See, the Internet is good for something

[Cthefuture]

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.

Re:See, the Internet is good for something

[AndroidCat]

I wonder what the Internet will do to the concept of peer review? Publishing and respose will be extremely rapid rather than the slow process of the past.

However, as we've seen on Slashdot, people still take time to carefully think their replies, rather kneejerk flaming, right? :^P

Re:See, the Internet is good for something

[Peterus7]

However, as we've seen on Slashdot, people still take time to carefully think their replies, rather kneejerk flaming, right? :^P

Flame from a few weeks ago.

You can go fuck yourself too. Want evidence for that? You're a prick. There, that's your evidence.

It still happens. There are some idiots here on slashdot, and despite best efforts to exterminate them with a flame thrower, they keep on popping up. We hope to eradicate them by modding them down and such, but they are very immature. Our hopes are that they will go back to their room in their mom's house and play Mario Sunshine or Yu Gi Oh instead of wasting our time.

Wow, I just flamed flamers. I feel dirty.

Problem is usually nobody sees them because they post anonymously and are under most people's threshhold, so moderators don't see it and therefore don't mod them down.

I think someone should be given a bunch of mod points, then sent every day to type in all the insults into the search and look through all the comments to see which ones are flames, and mod em down.

Although you couldn't pay me enough.

Re:See, the Internet is good for something

[poisoneleven]

I completely agree, and more than that, remember the days before the net allowed such easy research into anything? Head down to the library, hope they had a book or a neighbor library had a book on the topic, then find out if it tells you what you need. I can remember spending hours looking for relevant information for something I was working on, if it takes me more than a couple minutes now I start getting anxious :-D

Re:See, the Internet is good for something

[Anonymous Coward]

Negative.

The internet was something wanted by the academic computer communities because use of the phone network was too expensive for communication between computers and Ma Bell wouldn't compromise prices. The thing is though that building a country-wide network is ridiculously expensive and certainly wouldn't be something a few schools would be able to do on their own. Thus they attempted to get the money to fund the development of the internet by convincing the DoD/ARPA that it was worthwhile for them to invest money in creating the internet/ARPAnet.

The internet was something conceived by and largely created for the academic community, making it also be useful to the government was really a means to an end. Also, I'm sure the fact that it would be academically useful was something that helped the DoD justify spending the massive amounts of money, in addition to the military benefit they would gain from it.

Re:See, the Internet is good for something

[Tackhead]

> Beware of the stray abreasts. They're aflopping all around.

And they travel in pairs!

Re:See, the Internet is good for something

[John Hurliman]

The DARPA project did not envision the Internet. They were creating a project to link military computers together long distances apart. This idea was expanded upon by researchers at universities to form what became "the Internet".

Re:See, the Internet is good for something

[jonrkc]

"I often [hear] friends and colle[a]gues disgusted by the Internet, or simply bored by it." If I had friends and colleagues as unimaginative as that, I think I'd be looking for new ones.

Re:See, the Internet is good for something

[Black Copter Control]

Academic use wasn't just an add-on. It was the vehicle by which Arpanet (later to become the internet) was created. It was something of a symbiotic process. The Military had lots of money to buy the equipment and pay for the leased lines, but they didn't really know how to go about doing it. (the idea of a communications network without any sort of real central authority just did not fit within the normal military thought process).

Academics, on the other hand, had lots of interesting ideas and the time to work on it and perfect it -- but a (chronic) lack of funds to implement it on a usable scale. Put the two together, and you have the genesis of The Internet.

And it's the Internet...

[corebreech]

that's keeping them from coming up with the cure/vaccine, too.

Downloading all that pr0n can really bite into the schedule, and it's hard to stay focused when your favorite multiplayer FPS is only a mouse-click away.

SARS - IIS and SQL Server infected

[SystematicPsycho]

Isn't anyone else surprised that someone with too much time hasn't released a SARS virus to infect IIS and SQL Server? What have those Bulgarians been doing?

Re:SARS - IIS and SQL Server infected

[LifesABeach]

SARS virus to infect IIS and SQL Server

i think that maybe IIS, and SQL Server have both proven to make good 'growth media...' ;o)

Re:SARS - IIS and SQL Server infected

[Hayzeus]

What have those Bulgarians been doing?

Symantec keeps them pretty busy these days.

Kidding, folks. Only kidding...

Re:SARS - IIS and SQL Server infected

[Anonymous Coward]

Trolls have been carrying it for years...

PROPAGANDA!

[PopeAlien]

Dont Believe it! The internet is not good for anything other than Piracy & Evil! The Internet has never been of any benefit in any human endeavor. Even now the internet is dying on the firewalls!

Help Ban the Internet NOW!

Internet?

[Dr. Mojura]

What is this internet thing I keep hearing so much about, and how can I get on board? I've been thinking it could really help my colleagues and I share our IBM-360 punch cards a lot faster.

It's a good thing

[EFGearman]

No one's come up with a music player than plays genetic codes.

Otherwise, the researchers would be getting sued by the MPAA.

EFGearman

Re:It's a good thing

[cK-Gunslinger]

MPAA == Music Players and Artists Association ??

There are only so many evil corporations/associations to keep up with, can't we keep them straight?

MPAA == movies
RIAA == music

no way

[Anonymous Coward]

i would like to know who has the weinar in the bumbar

deeheehehe

so the internet is useful....

[lylum]

didn't we already know that? I mean, it was created by an organization that is supposed to do useful things and not by some quaker-clan.

Re:so the internet is useful....

[Anonymous Coward]

Quakers invent useful new technologies such as condensed milk, vacuum freezing, light yet strong furniture, etc. The Internet came from the military research and academic parts of our society, so the fact that it is useful at all and doesn't cost $600 per gold plated packet is pretty astounding.

Is there a cure yet?

[Xpilot]

I live in Malaysia, which is relatively safe from SARS, but in Singapore it's really bad and is other parts of Asia, people are dying left and right :(

Is there anything we can do to help speed up the search for a drug or vaccine?

Re:Is there a cure yet?

[ergo98]

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.

Re:Is there a cure yet?

[ergo98]

As a bit of clarification if any Torontonian calls me on my declaration of downtown Toronto as "Ground Zero": Ground zero is really Scarborough to the East, however I was speaking more with symbology of the visualization of Toronto by the world. Cheers!

Re:Is there a cure yet?

[specialized_sworks]

The entire reason for the Toronto case was inept health care workers that were not on the lookout for these symptoms. BC has not had the kind of outbreak we (Toronto) has had because their healthcare people were on the lookout for these cases. Toronto just put them in a semi-private room and caused the infection of 2 others, and so on. They even sent some home to retirement homes causing the entire place to be quarantined.

Sure there have been some "younger" people die from SARS in Toronto but most are very old. One was 99 years old.

A nurse travelled on a commuter train from Toronto to Burlington and back WITHOUT INFECTING ANYBODY.

Don't tell me no one is safe. That's like saying no one is safe from lightning strikes. That's just sensationalism. If you are not around a hospital with an infected person, you have no chance of contacting the virus. All right, it's not zero, but you have a more likely chance of being struck crossing the street.

Stop the sensationalism.

Re:Is there a cure yet?

[Anonymous Coward]

Mod parent down.

Of course no one is 100% safe, but there is not an epidemic in Canada. The only place you could possibly make a case for there being an epidemic of SARS is rural china.

More people have died from being hit by cars in the past few weeks in toronto than have died from SARS. I'd say you are safer in toronto than in the states...at least your are less likely to get shot.

Re:Is there a cure yet?

[ergo98]

The entire reason for the Toronto case was inept health care workers that were not on the lookout for these symptoms

Yes, because every single health care worker in Ontario is inept, and every single health care worker in BC is brilliant and informed. BULLSHIT, and it points a giant flashlight on your naevity. Both system of health care workers have access and knowledge of the same information (Ontario's government put out the same alert as BC), but BC got LUCKY (yes, LUCKY) because the front-line worker who got the first case happened to be one rare individual who kept up on the updates, while Toronto got unlucky that the front-line worker there didn't. I assure you, and I'll say this with certainty, that both locals probably have the same ratio of people who follow the medical listservs and those who don't. Don't buy into the politicizing BS lines from those who want to use a situation for their political advantage.

Sure there have been some "younger" people die from SARS in Toronto but most are very old.

Did I say otherwise? There have been a 39 and a 44 year old healthy males dying. The doctor who first alerted the West was in perfect shape and died at 44 in Hong Kong. There are very few illnesses that do that in a 10 day period (and they are among the world's most feared).

A nurse travelled on a commuter train from Toronto to Burlington and back WITHOUT INFECTING ANYBODY.

Thanks for the lesson, Sherlock. The funny thing is that I take that GO train. The nurse in question didn't talk or sneeze during the entire ride, which was likely the saving grace. In Hong Kong whole apartment complexes, or a large percentage thereof, have come down with it just by going by each other in common areas, and you're pretending they have to French kiss each other to get it.

If you are not around a hospital with an infected person, you have no chance of contacting the virus.

Did you miss the whole point of my message? A individual in Malaysia claimed that they were "safe" from SARS in Malaysia : No they aren't. It's one guy who thinks he has a cold and is too manly to see his doctor that could cause a major outbreak. We have it contained in Canada due to extraordinary measures of health care workers (despite the know-it-all armchair criticism of assholes like you, or politicians trying to score some point by stabbing them in the back), but it takes just one more guy flying in, and one more bit of bad luck. This holds true for the entire world, btw, not just Canada. As a Canadian I'm under little increased risk than a guy in Phoenix or New Zealand : Unless you shut down global travel...

Stop the sensationalism.

Oh, gee, I'm sorry. 6% death rate. 23 dead in Toronto alone (ignore the indirect death rate, which is those that are going to die because of deferred treatment due to a devastated health care system). SARS is very likely to take hold in third world nations that can't effectively contain it, and it may very well become a part of life. Sticking your head in the sand and proclaiming that it's no biggie.

Re:Is there a cure yet?

[specialized_sworks]

>the know-it-all armchair criticism of assholes like you

pot. kettle. black.

Re:Is there a cure yet?

[KidSock]

apocalyptic fool

Re:Is there a cure yet?

[ergo98]

Yes, when I proclaimed that we were making quick headway creating a vaccine for SARS, that was apocalyptic. Whatever.

There are a lot of people, probably including yourself, that believe that by proclaiming the best, it'll magically come about. This tends to be a Western phenomena, which is why we don't wear masks in public: It offends us if someone else wears a mask because that weakens our delusion of invincibility.

Re:Is there a cure yet?

[trixillion]

6-7% death rate

Unfortunately you cannot believe everything you read in print nor what WHO tells you. There are multiple ways of estimating the death rate. WHO has been using a crude metric where they take the total number of deaths over the total number of reported cases. This yields 7.0% as of today. A better estimate is to take the total number of discharged deaths over the sum of discharges and deaths. This gives 13.9% to date. We can also consider the previous calculation but using moving averages of recent discharges and recent deaths. For example the 7-day and 14-day moving averages would yield 23.4% and 21.0% death rates respectively. WHO's method has yielded a continuously rising death rate which has confused many people into thinking that the virus has mutated and become more deadly, but this is just silly. The reality is likely that the death rate has always been north of 15% and possibly as high as 20%. Incidentally mainland china has seen death rates using the moving average method in the 30-35% range. If that holds then SARS is as deadly as smallpox was in its hey day. It is a shame that WHO has been reporting the death rate in such a decieving way because if governments truly understood how dangerous this virus is then I suspect a stronger response would be in order. It is still very possible to contain SARS however it will require mainland china to step up its efforts and probably require using its millitrary to quarentine infected cities and blockade ports (yes, it has already become this serious.) In the last 2 weeks, mainland china has seen the number of active cases (aggregate cases less dischared patients and dead people) increase by a factor of 7. The rest of the world has SARS handedly contained but mainland china has transistioned into epedimic like growth curves. Another way in which SARS information has been poorly reported is that the aggregate cases is the number usually reported. This number is entirely irrelevent as is the number of new cases on a day by day basis. What is important is the number of active cases and the change in the number of active cases (neither number is reported directly by WHO.)

Dan Quayle

[Chris_Stankowitz]

Does this mean Dan Quayle will get credit for it?

Re:Dan Quayle

[Anonymous Coward]

Not Dan Quayle, it was Clinton's second banana.

Re:Dan Quayle

[Anonymous Coward]

I thought Al Gore invented the internet.

Tr0llKore cums to get j00

[(TK)Dessimat0r]

-PENIS--PENIS--PENIS--PENIS-
P_______________________8..P
E__Bow down to the_____#~..E
N__Lord's penis_______8.',-N
I_____________________#',-.I
S__Jesus wants your__8',-..S
-__anus, and he_____#~',-..-
P__wants it NOW! ___8_',-..P
E__________________##',-',-E
N__An original_____8',-',";N
I__TrollKore(TM)_____##',-',";I
S__work of art.___8',-',";.S
-__By Dessimat0r ##',-',";.-
P________________8',-',";,.P
E_______________#'',-',";,.E
N______________8(',-',";,..N
I_____________#(',-',";,.,.I
S__________#8#8_',-',";,.,.S
-_________#',-.8',-',";,.,.-
P________8~',-..#',-',";,..P
E_______#'',-',";8_',-',";.E
N_____8=',-',";.+#+',-',";.N
I____#=',-',";,._8',-',";,.I
S___#=',-',";,..(#',-',";.8S
-__8(',-',YOUR,.(8',-',";s#-
P_8(',-',MOTHER";#',-',-s8_P
E_#z',-',LOVES,";8',-..s#__E
N_8_.,#',"YOU',";~#,..88___N
I_#.##',-DEARLY,";~8,.8#___I
S_8##',-+~'',-',-~#'8______S
-_#.,..-',-',";.'=8#_______-
P_.8+_',-',";,.'88_________P
E___888',-',";~8___________E
N______8#888#88____________N
I__________________________I
S____.oO TrollKore Oo._____S
-_At the head of the game._-
P__________________________P
E___irc.freedomirc.net_____E
N_______#trollkore_________N
I__________________________I
S__________________________S
-PENIS--PENIS--PENIS--PENIS-

All you cock-loving fuckers out there, here is a special treat for you bastards, take a look at this knob. NOW SUCK IT, MOTHERFUCKERS!

You are not logged in. You can log in now using the Important Stuff: Please try to keep posts on topic. Try to reply to other people's comments instead of starting new threads. Read other people's messages before posting your own to avoid simply duplicating what has already been said. Use a clear subject that describes what your message is about. Offtopic, Inflammatory, Inappropriate, Illegal, or Offensive comments might be moderated. (You can read everything, even moderated posts, by adjusting your threshold on the User Preferences Page) If you want replies to your comments sent to you, consider logging in or creating an account. Problems regarding accounts or comment posting should be sent to CowboyNeal the convenient form below, or Important Stuff: Please try to keep posts on topic. Try to reply to other people's comments instead of starting new threads. Read other people's messages before posting your own to avoid simply duplicating what has already been said. Use a clear subject that describes what your message is about. Offtopic, Inflammatory, Inappropriate, Illegal, or Offensive comments might be moderated. (You can read everything, even moderated posts, by adjusting your threshold on the User Preferences Page) If you want replies to your comments sent to you, consider logging in or creating an account. Problems regarding accounts or comment posting should be sent to CowboyNeal

HEY, FUCK YOU! FUCK ALL OF YOU! ASSHOLES! FUCK YOU

[Anonymous Coward]

How many times...

[swasson]

do you have to be told? Don't open attachments from people you don't know :)

Re:How many times...

[Anonymous Coward]

How can you make jokes... if that's what you want to call it... at a time like this. Let me guess, you are a virgin? Now shut up!

Download Sars?

[wo1verin3]

I can't find it on Kazaa, does anyone have a bittorret where I can download Sars?

Internet's benefit of Sars

[Musashi Miyamoto]

I thought that the greatest benefit of the Internet for SARS was the fact that all those people quarantined at home can't do anything but surf the net...

Sars also brings con artists too.

[Anonymous Coward]

A search for sars on google reveals about three con artists trying to sell fake anti sars masks/vaccinations. It happened with the anthrax outbreak too. Through spam or google, the theives never stop. I hope most people aren't to stupid to fall for this crap.

Re:Sars also brings con artists too.

[Anonymous Coward]

Pathetic. Try getting laid one day.

(Oh and for those wanting to mod me down, try clicking on the parent's link. Suffice to say you won't end up on Google.)

Idiot

[Anonymous Coward]

How to gain Karma like a pro!

In this day and age, whoring Karma on Slashdot is easier than ever. With more moderators and a lower signal to noise ratio (If you don't know what that means, don't worry!) means that Karma can easily be gained by following a few simple rules when you are carefully crafting your Slashdot post.

• Vaguely mention the DMCA. It doesn't matter what the topic of discussion is, those four magic letters glow like a beacon to any moderator with points.
• You can get double points if you spell the acronym as DCMA throughout your post. This is especially effective if you're replying to someone who has just used the correct acronym in their post.
• MPAA and RIAA are another pair of gems. Use the phrase "RIAA/MPAA" in every post you make, and that Karma will flow!
• Always confuse the two. Complain loudly about the MPAA suing over MP3 downloads, or the RIAA trying to stop you from downloading DeCSS.
• Don't bother to understand the difference between Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks. If the topic of discussion is about patents, claim that "this wouldn't have happened before the DCMA" (See above)
• Always remember, It's Microsofts Fault! Try to craft vague conspiracy theories that include Microsoft.
• Spell it "Micro$oft" or "M$". Moderators will lap it up.
• If all else fails, blame the Government. Do not at any cost attempt to understand basic politics, as that will make you look opinionated. Just blame the current political leaders.
• Likewise, blame the French. Double points if you use the phrase "Cheese eating surrender monkeys".
• If you're losing the argument, start a flamewar about the war with Iraq. Accuse the other party of being French, or "a pinko commie"(See above).
• Claim that you only download stuff using P2P to "try before you buy".
• Start a flamewar by claiming that "Piracy isn't theft". Violently flame anybody who dares to disagree with you.
• Double points if you attempt to defend your position by stating that you "wouldn't have paid for it anyway, so they haven't lost a sale".
• The Iraqi Information Minister was funny, wasn't he? Your post should be like one of his speeches. It'll be funny.
• Ensure your sig has a Karma joke in it. You know the ones, something like "Karma: Bogus!" Ensure you retype your sig every time you post a comment; double sigs look cool and you wouldn't want the people who have sigs disabled to miss out, would you?
• Remember! Never, ever read the related article or any background information before you state your opinions. You're too busy to do that, and its not like the moderators will notice either!

Good luck! Within no time at all, your Karma will be Excellent!

Was it like this back in the day?

[Call Me Black Cloud]

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.

Re:Was it like this back in the day?

[(trb001)]

For the same reason that people backpat each other about television...a great number of people say there's nothing but trash on television, but when an event like 9/11 occurs and television is the only outlet for information because all the freakin phones are tied up, people suddenly realize that there is a reason, other than watching Survivor, for having a television.

A great many of our 'innovations' come from entertainment sources...optics, radio, computing, to name a few. You don't, on a daily basis, hear people extolling the virtues of entertainment devices, but every once in awhile we remember that there ARE non-recreational uses for them.

--trb

Re:Was it like this back in the day?

[AndroidCat]

did newspapers write articles about how the phone helped this or facilitated that?

Almost certainly. And radio. And cell phones. No argument. Perphaps not a breakthough, just another bump in magnitude. If not news, then a reminder that the Internet is not all pr0n and games.

Re:Was it like this back in the day?

[Rick.C]

When the telephone first came into widespread use did newspapers write articles about how the phone helped this or facilitated that?

I asked my great grandfather about this.

He couldn't remember.

Re:Was it like this back in the day?

[Merk]

Ok, but... so what? I happened to catch the early moments of the 9/11 attacks on TV and there wasn't much "news" there. There were live pictures, wild speculations, but that's it. The only way I can think of that instant visuals had any impact was that people called their relatives on one of the planes, who then crashed it. But while the 9/11 pictures were amazing, it doesn't seem to me that they did a whole lot of good to anybody.

Open Source Vaccines!

[Angry White Guy]

Medication wants to be free!

Watch out Pharmaceutical Companies!

Just imagine...

[Anonymous Coward]

If Microsoft Windows ran on every server and router on the Internet, SARS would somehow be contagious online.

Re:Just imagine...

[mdwong]

Naw, they'd release a patch before you got to a 90% infection rate.

SARS and distributed computing

[Musashi Miyamoto]

It is a shame that though a large number of the Internet community will altruistically join the fight against SARS, voluteering thier computer's processing power and the electricity used to keep it running, while the likely (pecuniary) beneficiary will be a giant biotechnology firm, which will quickly patent any findings that are uncovered by the distributed computing program.

Since you volunteer your computer, I would bet that this fact does not need to be stated in any EULA.

Re:SARS and distributed computing

[svallarian]

So what if they do? They have to be able to recoup the costs of R&D somehow. There isn't any magic "Cure money" that just appears.

Steven V.

Re:SARS and distributed computing

[TopShelf]

Where's the shame in that? The fact is that these firms are working hard to provide therapies that could only be dreamt of years ago - they should be rewarded, along with the shareholders that provide the resources to make it happen. Are the altruistic volunteers getting taken advantage of in any way? Not that I see - all that happens in your scenario is that a solution gets developed, lives are saved, and a firm gets financially rewarded for doing so. That is a good thing.

Re:SARS and distributed computing

[Musashi Miyamoto]

What you are describing is different from what is (likely) occuring. The firm is not doing research, but allowing others to unknowingly provide them with computational power to brute-force a solution.

The persons volunteering for this program are doing so in the belief that their efforts will help in saving the lives of those infected or those that might be infected with the disease. HOWEVER, what they will wind up doing is helping only those who can afford the medications that are created (under a patent-enforced monopoly), or those who live under a government that can afford the medications for them.

Many of those in capitalistic societies without socialized medicine or insurance, like 30 million in the United states will not be able to afford this medication.

However, if the findings from the program were immediately given to the public domain, I would be more in agreement with the ethics.

Though, I do not agree that being rewarded financially from free-market sales of medicines is a good thing. The poor are not less human or less deserving of good health than the rich. They deserve to live healthily. Though you may not agree, I believe it is the duty of a society to provide for the healthcare of all those in that society.

Re:SARS and distributed computing

[the gnat]

There are two separate responses to this:

1. The distributed computing project attacking SARS is a giant hand-waving exercise. The technique it uses is simply molecular docking, which has been studied for years but hasn't been truly proved as a successful method to drug design. The people I know who use this sort of tool admit that right now the methods aren't very sensitive - the hope is that they'll at least be able to reduce the (vast) number of false positives that make it into experimental screening.

At any rate, the force fields used are still pretty theoretical. The problem with this project is that they're using a homologous viral protein (the site says "50-60% identity") because we obviously don't know the structures of the SARS proteins. The idea is that the active site is still well conserved, and that inhibitors should be analogous. Unfortunately, it's well known that molecules which appear to have pefect fits may still have poor binding kinetics or efficacy - they may not even make it to the target protein in vivo. So they're adding an approximation of structure on top of an already approximate technique.

If people are serious about doing computational drug design targeting this virus, they'd be better off determining the crystal structure of the proteins first, and improving the virtual library screening.

2. Ignoring (1), who cares if it's some big biotech who gets the results? Who the fuck else has the time, resources, and money to screen target compounds, mass-produce the drug, and get it past FDA review? The last I heard, D2OL was working with millions of candidate compounds. Assuming it works at all, the best it can do is narrow the field down to many thousands. Experimentally validating these compounds is something that virtually no public/academic labs could handle. Academicians are great at doing basic research, not this type of investigation.

Re:SARS and distributed computing

[pi radians]

while the likely (pecuniary) beneficiary will be a giant biotechnology firm, which will quickly patent any findings that are uncovered by the distributed computing program.

So? They are saving money by using volunteered computing power and saving time in the same swoop.

Somebody has to back the project. They have to pay for the research.

Compare the two:

Distrubuted Computing Solution
Saves R&D costs and time. A cure will be available sooner and will cost the general public less. The company that implemented it all will get the patent and all of the profits.

Conventional Solution
Takes more time to find the cure along with costing much more. The company that did it all will get the patent and all of the profits.

In general, companies, if they are supplying a service or product that the general public wants, should make money. In this case they are trying to save lives as well, but you think that they shouldn't profit from it?

Re:SARS and distributed computing

[Fascist Christ]

...I do not agree that being rewarded financially from free-market sales of medicines is a good thing.

Find someone who will spend a billion dollars trying to find a cure for some disease without the possiblity to get any of that billion back. If the US government funded healthcare entirely, there would be a point.

But they don't. So the only other option is profit (or a very generous entity).

Re:SARS and distributed computing

[Fascist Christ]

a solution gets developed... and a firm gets financially rewarded

Oh my god, it's capitalism! :)

Re:SARS and distributed computing

[Musashi Miyamoto]

Find someone who will spend a billion dollars trying to find a cure for some disease without the possiblity to get any of that billion back. If the US government funded healthcare entirely, there would be a point.

Exactly my point.

With a free market system, the main drugs being researched are those that rich white men want. How many male potency, hair growth, depression, non-drowsy antihistamine drugs do we need?

I'm not trying to imply that any of those drugs are bad, but that the free-market causes those to come first. The free market ALSO causes pharmaceutical companies to spend 60% of their budgets on marketing, while never requiring them to prove that their drugs are any better than the existing public-domain ones. All the FDA requires is proof that the drug works to some degree and that it is safe. If asprin is more effective than your drug, it does not matter.

Most egregious is that the free market causes drug companies to stress treatment of diseases rather than cures. Why cure a disease entirely when you can get repeat sales for your treatment for the remainder of the patient's life?

Re:SARS and distributed computing

[freestyle-fiend]

Why should I charitably help one company research towards a cure rather than another? Why not have a non-profit organisation to provide the 'Intellectual Property' resulting from distributed computing for free. If this is not practical, then the findings could be patented by an exhaustive corporate consortium (open to any company which decided to participate) or a non-profit organisation.

Re:SARS and distributed computing

[not Mr.T]

I don't know if I am quite that cynical. In this case, two labs a sharing the coronavirus mapping freely so that peer review can take place. Companies that want to make a quick buck aren't so quick to share. What strikes me as a bit odd is why they would bother when other researchers are only able to identify the presence of coronavirus in 40% of SARS patients. Admittedly, this might be because the virus doesn't hold up well in the lab, making it difficult to identify even when present. But it's got a bad smell about it.

He didn't get SARs, he got FAT. ;)

[Snaggy]

Or so I saw on the Internet comic.

Reminds me of an old Wired Issue...

[Shoten]

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.

Re:Reminds me of an old Wired Issue...

[Musashi Miyamoto]

Could article this be what you were talking about?
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/5.07/longboom.h tml

Re:Reminds me of an old Wired Issue...

[Elledan]

[..] the disease was horrifically contagious.

Fortunately, SARS is very different from such a type of disease. It's neither very contagious (close physical contact is required), nor is it very effective: only about 8% of those infected die, usually those with an already weakened immune system, like children, old people and anyone already suffering (or recovering) from another disease.

It still sounds like an interesting article, though.

Re:Reminds me of an old Wired Issue...

[AndroidCat]

It's neither very contagious (close physical contact is required)

ITYM close presence rather than contact. Also, they have found some people who tend to be "super spreaders" who are very contagious, and they don't know why yet.

Re:Reminds me of an old Wired Issue...

[digidave]

Actually, I don't think any children have died. They seem to develop a very weak version of the disease. Also, the mortality rate is more like 4%, although real numbers are hard to get outside of a few major countries.

Re:Reminds me of an old Wired Issue...

[Elwood P Dowd]

No, it's older than that. Perhaps from their second or third year.

The best part was they had a future "United Colors of Benetton" ad. It featured eight people in identical hazmat suits in front of a post-apocalyptic landscape. Due to the hazmat suits, there was no way to detect what race the models were. That idea had me giggling for weeks.

Re:Reminds me of an old Wired Issue...

[Anonymous Coward]

Hong Kong: 1611 infected, 170 dead.

I'm not too good at math, could you tell me if that number equals a 4% death rate?

Re:Reminds me of an old Wired Issue...

[Shoten]

Yes, that's the one...that was the most interesting part of that article, I think...the way they showed what advertising was like in such a changed world. Color-coordinated suits, gloves, and gas masks, all under the Swatch moniker. And in the end, when the cure was developed, only one organization still had enough of a distribution network to disseminate it to the population...McDonalds!

Genetic codes.....

[FreeLinux]

scientists who cracked SARS' genetic code credit the Internet

That's great. Now they know what it looks like. But, beyond that...... It seems to me that a great deal of effort is being placed on genetic squencing lately but, I haven't seen any advantages yet. They talk about using it for developing a vaccine or cure for the various diseases and I suppose that may happen in the future. Right now however, it seems that having a picture or genetic sequence of whatever virus isn't yielding much more than a poster for the wall. I can't help but wonder if time and effort wouldn't be better spent by these scientists concentrating on these diseases from more traditional angles.

2001...

[Shadow Wrought]

Am I the only one who, when seeing a headline with SARS in it, automatically pictures an astronaut floating in space over a large monolith saying, "Oh my god, its full of SARS!"

Yep. Figured I was alone.

Re:2001...

[Anonymous Coward]

Someone care to explain this? Thanks.

Re:2001...

[pmz]

Yep. Figured I was alone.

No, you are just very special. Like me, I'm very special, too! Wheeeeeeeee!

Re:2001...

[Shadow Wrought]

At the end of 2001, the Astronaut finds this huge black slab orbiting Jupiter. On his space walk he looks down and sees tons of stars in it. To which he gasps, "Oh my god, its full of stars!".

Having a brain that randomly shifts gears into "Pun Mode" all of its own accord, I find that quote going through my head whenever I hear or see something about SARS. My guess is that its funny to like .00000000001 percent of the overall population. Slightly higher for /. ;-)

Re:2001...

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, it's funny to at least 5 people (OP, you, and the three mods who mod'ed it funny,) which is 0.0000000833% (8.3333*10^-8%) of the planet's 6 billion population, rather more than your 1*10^-11% (which is only 0.0006 of a person.)

God, I'm geeky :-/

Re:2001...

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually, it's from the start of 2010 which attributed it as Dave Bowman's last transmission in 2001, but the line was not in 2001. There was no more dialogue at all in the last part of 2001, titled "Jupiter and Beyond the Infinite". The last spoken words in 2001 were Heywood Floyd's prerecorded briefing being played back to Dave Bowman after he'd disconnected HAL.

The 2010 quote is, "My God, it's full of stars!"

Re:2001...

[Shadow Wrought]

Looks like a bad math day for me all around! Well, that's probably why I ended up a LawSo major..

Hong Kong

[yehim1]

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...

Re:Hong Kong

[lovebyte]

..., breathe easy for a while.
I am sure you did not mean that as a joke.

Good luck, man.

Re:Hong Kong

[sean23007]

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!

I don't think many people are using this time to breathe easy...

I'm sorry. That was bad.

Internet and BC Outbreak

[Abcd1234]

Actually, in BC, the Internet served an incredibly important role.

In Canada, one of the most remarkable things about the SARS outbreak (at least, IMHO) is that Vancouver, which is Canada's gateway to the pacific region, saw a relatively small SARS outbreak, as compared to Toronto, or many asian countries. This despite the fact that many infected travellers either passed through their airports, or actually disembarked there.

Recently, this fact was discussed in a piece on the CBC. In response, the BC health officials said they had been aware that something was coming down the pipe for some time now. This was possible, in part, because the Internet allowed for quick distribution of information regarding the mysterious disease outbreak in China. Many websites had been warning for months that there appeared to be a mysterious "atypical pneumonia" in existence, and that health officials in other countries should be on their toes. As a result, the BC health ministry requested that all hospitals immediately quarantine any patients who exhibited signs of atypical pneumonia.

This experience contrasts with what occured in Toronto, where the first SARS patient was admitted to a hospital, and, because the doctors there had no inkling about this upcoming disease, placed the patient in a room with two other patients, who also developed SARS. And thus began the outbreak in Toronto which, while in the end was handled quite well, still presented a serious challenge, as they simply weren't prepared for it.

So, in the end, BC fared very well. Why? Because the health officials there kept their ears to the ground. And they were able to do this, in part, because the Internet allowed them to gain and share information amongst one another quickly and easily.

Re:Internet and BC Outbreak

[Greedo]

So what's BC's excuse for not sharing that information with Toronto?

Re:Internet and BC Outbreak

[seann]

they're fucking bloody cunt suckers.

Re:Internet and BC Outbreak

[Abcd1234]

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.

Re:Internet and BC Outbreak

[AndroidCat]

That's one reason that they're thinking of this: "The federal government is considering setting up a Canadian version of the famed U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as authorities hammer together a new strategy to combat SARS and other infectious disease, Anne McLellan, the Health Minister, said yesterday." (Lots of other links on that page.)

Re:Internet and BC Outbreak

[Abcd1234]

Yup, I know. :) I probably should have mentioned that in my post. Of course, the reason this didn't exist in the first place is due to the historical autonomy of the provinces in Canada. Unlike the United States, provinces in Canada are given a great deal of license to govern the people in their jurisdictions (much greater than states in the US). In particular, health care has always been an area where the provinces have traditionally had a great deal of autonomy. But, with the SARS outbreak, it's become clear that there needs to be some sort of federal body to handle national health care situations and to coordinate the actions of the various health ministries.

Of course, IMHO, this has been a long time coming, and just needed a nation-wide medical incident like this to set things in motion. After all, Canada is a nation, and the feds can play a valuable and important role in facilitating cooperation between the provinces so we can better react to similar outbreaks in the future.

Re:Internet and BC Outbreak

[RickHunter]

Hopefully [the Ontario government has] learned a lesson from all of this.

Not likely. Last I checked, they're still refusing to provide as much as a dime for use for quarantine enforcement, monitoring of quarantined individuals, or wages for quarantined individuals. (To encourage them to stay home) Meanwhile, they've put together a $118 million funds package for... Not research, not public health improvements, not (god forbid) a proper information campaign, but for a PR campaign to rebuild the city's "international image" and tourist industry.

Great job solving the real problem there, guys.

Re:Internet and BC Outbreak

[leoc]

Researchers in BC were also, with the help of Linux able to make many of the first breakthrough's in examining the genome of this disease.

Re:Internet and BC Outbreak

[AndroidCat]

Lets just see if anything comes of it after the next election. So far the federal strategy seems to be to have dim-sum in Agincourt. (Not a bad personal strategy; no waiting, and probably very good service.)

Re:Internet and BC Outbreak

[No. 24601]

So what's BC's excuse for not sharing that information with Toronto?

hmmm.. Leafs suck.. Canucks rock!??!?!?

Re:Internet and BC Outbreak

[Anonymous Coward]

you are such a troll...

Re:Internet and BC Outbreak

[No. 24601]

you are such a troll...

well.. not really! Leafs do suck... they keep losing in second round playoffs. What else is there to say: just stating the facts ;)

Mortality Rates

[Varitek]

When the newspapers were reporting mortality rates of 2-3%, I was reading the regular SARS updates on The Agonist that made a convincing case for mortality rates of greater than 10%. Sure enough, a week later than the papers were also quoting 10%

Internet, dude!

[Anonymous Coward]

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.


Like, this was SOOO impossible to do before the internet!! We are so totally lucky to be alive in this age dude!

Lies!

[SARS Virus]

The SARS virus thrives on.

There was no online collaboration. The researchers threw themselves against SARS and were utterly destroyed.

Sequenced SARS ? Really ?

[Anonymous Coward]

Last I heard the Canadians were saying that only 80 per cent of the people with SARS had that particular coronavirus, and 15 per cent of some samples of people with bad colds but no SARS did have that coronavirus.

While sequencing the virus seems generally useful, shouldn't these people be finding a pathogen ? You know, saving lives as opposed to rushing for the publication and the grant before the hype dies down ?

Genetic code

[mao che minh]

While I do support the open source movement, perhaps we should stress caution when it comes to the genetic code of viruses. I'm not sure if it is a good idea to have that type of thing floating around the internet.

Re:Genetic code

[ajlitt]

Sure, like Joe Terrorist will just send this to his printer to make at-home SARS. Why not a plane trip to China to collect a few blood samples?

Re:Genetic code

[lovebyte]

I think it was meant as a joke. A very bad one too. Open source, Genetic CODE.

Re:Genetic code

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, they say they've made the SARS genetic sequence freely available, but there is as yet no cite of a site in sight.

Re:Genetic code

[Anonymous Coward]

I hear the end part of the sequence has a part that translates to "477 UR B453-P41R5..."

SARS and the Internet.

[Anonymous Coward]

Having chronicled over 100 years of incest in my own family, I would bet that the Uncle/photographer 'took pictures' of the mother. I would also bet that the in some weird karmic way the exposure that the mother wishes for the child is to escape this guy's grip!
The extra weight that the adults are carrying around seems to me to be all about some family secret. Again, I would bet an investigation of his history would provide incriminating evidance.

If his photo's were really being directed to teenage girls, why would he instruct her (as per the film footage) to be "flirty". Hookers are flirty, little girls should not be. He is making this little girl responsible for her own molestation. A trick that a lot of pedophiles use to justify their actions......."the child wanted it" is a phrase that a now infamous Catholic priest used. That is what these parents are saying.

Cure for Cancer

[Ristoril]

If only we could harness the true power of the Internet, and somehow embed distributed computing clients into pr0n. Cure for cancer in 10 minutes.

Re:Cure for Cancer

[StupidHelpDeskGuy]

They have the internet on computers now? -Homer

Re:Cure for Cancer

[Palos]

I realize the parent comment was a joke, but..
Check out United Devices if you're interesting in a distributed project that is fighting cancer.

SARS and DMCA

[Anonymous Coward]

I thought the DMCA made craking things illegal.

Internet good in another way too

[elliotj]

One of the major problems facing us with regard to pandemics thesedays is air travel. In the past, SARS would not have spread directly from Hong Kong to Toronto for example.

The Internet also provides help in this area by making it less necessary to make physical trips to do business or keep in touch with friends and family.

One of the recent trends in Business Continuity Planning for example is considering the idea of a the virtual workplace as a hot site. How useful is a physical backup location if your workers can't sit in the same room together for medical reasons? For this reason, I suspect the Internet will continue to play an increasingly important role in emergency management.

d2ol downloads

[Anonymous Coward]

www.powerweb.net/sars has a mirror of the downloads from d2ol.

windows, mac and linux

just incase d2ol gets /.ed again

I'd rather have SARS

[Anonymous Coward]

... than the aids I contracted from your mother.

lawsuit

[Anonymous Coward]

VotW (Virii of the World) has sued the scientists who reverse engineered the SARS' genetic code. Claiming 250 billions dollars in lost revenue against the these so called 'scientists' and the Internet.

More at 11.

Comparison...

[jocks]

The interenet:

The world's most complex and intricate machine, of variable size and of huge expense to the world's resources, used to crack the genetic code of SARS, which makes a cure possible.

OR.....
A white hanky:

A small white rectangle of tightly woven cloth, totally impervious to SARS, which provides absolute protection to its spread. Simply cover mouth and nose with said cloth to prevent infection.

Yay white hanky!

Re:Comparison...

[geekoid]

I hope your joking, because a white hanky, and surgical masks that aren't rated to be used around TB patients, are of no help what so ever.

What!

[geekoid]

this internet thing allowed communication? next you'll be saying it will allow you to communicate with peopel on the other side of the world....

Re:What!

[jkcity]

Funnily enough its suprising how many people don't think you can communicate with other people around the world, this stupid person was IM me the other day and they could not accept I was in England because I had emailed them and was talking on IM with them, I guess she thought it was an american only thing. BTW: it was an aol user :)

Re:What!

[Anonymous Coward]

I was on a chat once when someone logged in demanding help for something or other rather rudely. When no one complied, he/she gave a nice lecture on how they pay for their internet access and how they're gunna get their money's worth or he/she will report each and every one of us to his ISP and we'll lose our jobs.

I kid you not.

No Phones?

[Anonymous Coward]

> Not mentioned in the stories is that Toronto
> researchers who were in quarantine were able to
> stay in touch.

What, they couldn't call each other?

Re:No Phones?

[Anonymous Coward]

"Okay, I've got the virus on the screen, let me discribe it to you: It's got this straight bit then it goes kind of curvy, but not too curvy..."

Wonderful..

[grub]

Importan SARS work, pr0n, goatse.cx, Kazaa... Is there anything the Internet can't do?

Re:Wonderful..

[Surak]

I don't think so. Evidently, it can even make coffee.

Internet works, for now...

[AndroidCat]

I didn't want to troll my article, so I didn't point out the fact that these researchers found plain email to be the most useful part of the Internet. The same email that's being hit with billions of spams a day.

I can't say that I have anthing urgent to communicate via email, but the thought of people like these having to wade through all that crap makes me very angry, very angry indeed! *huff*huff*!

Re:Internet works, for now...

[lovebyte]

What these researchers found useful is what all researchers find useful in molecular biology and genomics: quasi-instantaneous access to data. There are many bacteria, viruses, plants and animals (including human) that have been sequenced and almost all of it is freely available on the net.
Without the internet, progress in this area would have been much slower. For instance a few hours/days after the publication of the SARS sequence, many labs had "assembled" the data and commented it.

Re:Internet works, for now...

[AndroidCat]

Sure, the data access is useful, but the researchers themselves were quoted as saying that email was the major part. (See the first link.)

Without the internet, progress in this area would have been much slower. Yeah, that was sort of why I submitted the article. :^P

Re:Internet works, for now...

[lovebyte]

Snipet from the article:
As soon as the sequence was decoded, the B.C. researchers posted it on the Internet.

"People were, within minutes of that, able to download the sequence and analyse it in their own laboratories and their own computers," Jones said.

"The Internet has had a profound impact on how this data has been shared and how scientists have collaborated."

Email was important, but since I work in the genomic domain I can tell you that the data produced was very quickly downloaded and used in labs all over the world.

Re:Internet works, for now...

[geekoid]

You know, they could set up a system that give certian email an official 'stamp' so it can get routed into a special folder/directory/whatever.

If not a stamp, then a code phrase in the subject.
Yes it would have to rotate, but that detail could be worked out.

Finally, they could set up an IM system that assins ID's to a specific group. And you can only get the ID after going through some procdure. Suchs as the Admin calling the person, via a business phone line.
If you have a special need, you can set up something for your need.
If you have your system set up to get email from anybody, then don't complain that you are getting email from anybody.

Ah, but...

[jd]

Isn't there a risk that a SARS virus will fall into the computer, get digitized by the onboard sequencer, and get transmitted down the Internet?

Re:Ah, but...

[Anonymous Coward]

Of course, in a few years we will all be using DNA- based computers. You will soon be able to email a SARS package to an Outlook user where the DNA will be recreated in your CPU and come flying out your front- mounted USB4 port *cough*

Brought to you by MS-SARS

OK Now

[Anonymous Coward]

Now they need to get to work on finding a cure for that damn T-Virus. ... ooooh SARS i thought you said STARS my bad.

THIS JUST IN: Internet facilitates communication!

[Anonymous Coward]

Who came up with this jaw-dropping insight?

+5 Best post

[Anonymous Coward]

Though that's easy to get given all of the trolls, it's the first comment I've found interesting in this story.

Free trip to Toronto

[luugi]

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.

Re:Free trip to Toronto

[PunchMonkey]

You're not crazy, I live in Toronto, don't know anyone with SARS. I don't even know anyone who knows anyone who has SARS. Everyone at the office howls with laughter when we get an e-mail from overseas asking if we're ok and how the situation is.

Find any great deals, go for them! You've got nothing to worry about.

Re:Free trip to Toronto

[luugi]

You're not crazy, I live in Toronto, don't know anyone with SARS. I don't even know anyone who knows anyone who has SARS. Everyone at the office howls with laughter when we get an e-mail from overseas asking if we're ok and how the situation is. Find any great deals, go for them! You've got nothing to worry about.

I agree. I live in Montreal, and my family from the states think we are all dying.

Re:Free trip to Toronto

[digidave]

Yes, but a few weeks ago when there was a threat of SARS moving into the community, it was a real treat to be able to simply cough to get a seat on the train.

Re:Free trip to Toronto

[Quill]

I live in Sudbury, Ontario (about 4 hours North-West of Toronto) and the radio has been announcing special "SARS Vacations" to Toronto. For $125 CAD/person ($80 for children) you get dinner atop the C.N. Tower, swank hotel accomodations, and a baseball game.

A friend of a friend was redialing the phone number for **9 hours** before she was able to get a free line and book a holiday for her family of 4 for ~$400. Tons of people are jumping at the offer!

Me? I have to head to T.O. for 5 days next week for training.

Re:Free trip to Toronto

[AndroidCat]

While you're here, be sure to check out the Chinese restaurants. Sadly due to stupid fears, they've been especially hit hard by lack of people. I'll bet that you get good service and a great meal!

Re:Free trip to Toronto

[Elwood P Dowd]

I do not appreciate this flip tone while discussing such a serious problem.

I live in Toronto, and I died of SARS. Have some fucking respect.

Re:Free trip to Toronto

[leoc]

It's not just Toronto. I heard stories recently about being able to get 6 day all-includive Alaska cruises out of Vancouver for $250 Canadian per person for a cabin.

Re:Free trip to Toronto

[Anonymous Coward]

"Free".... like the "$1 airfares". By the time you pay the taxes, the "airport fees" the "airport restructuring fees" the "air canada went out of business and didn't pay us fees", the "security tax" the tickets are (no joke), up to $300 still.

The good and the bad

[upstateguy]

As someone in public health, I can see both sides of the story.

Certainly, being able to share information quickly with others is useful. My scientific collaborations are (literally) all over the globe whereas 10 years ago I was lucky to be able to collaborate with labs within a few hundred miles.

But science works best by putting forth hypotheses, testing them, and eliminating the false ones. A downside of the net is that these hypotheses get spread as facts, are then amplified by the media, and then the truth gets ignored since a negative finding doesn't seem newsworthy as the original sensation.

SARS is bad, but it luckly hasn't been that bad so far in US (no deaths...*yet*). And I think undeserving of the sheer amount of attention it has received. But sexy new killer diseases always trump real boring old threats to your well being. SARS even managed to trump an otherwise other guaranteed reporting of the recent outbreak of Ebola in Africa. Let alone the much bigger but mundane killer of influenza (flu).

And in the age of HIPAA, you have to extrememly careful about what and how you share any kind of patient information (check out the forms the next visit to your physician or pharmacy). You cannot compromise patient confidentiality but it happens, due to ignorance or lazyiness, far too often.

Re:The good and the bad

[Anonymous Coward]

"But science works best by putting forth hypotheses, testing them, and eliminating the false ones. A downside of the net is that these hypotheses get spread as facts, are then amplified by the media, and then the truth gets ignored since a negative finding doesn't seem newsworthy as the original sensation."

That's not a downside to the net, that's a downside to the media. They're the ones who amplify the wrong facts, and they're the ones who ignore the truth because it doesn't seem newsworthy.

Re:The good and the bad

[AndroidCat]

Yes, another Cold Fusion would be bad.

I know: Create Sciencedot, and only the +5 Informative posts should be believed! (I'm joking. It is an interesting problem when publishing and peer review happen at net speed.)

I like SARS

[Anonymous Coward]

Hopefully it will kill off all the damn chinks in the world.

argh

[bryanthompson]

Are you saying in your post that you'd rather they didn't do this research?

keep trolling with your leftist agenda. it's sad that a post like that passes for insightful or interesting. The fact is, this is a good thing. I'm sure if you spent the time creating what they're doing, you'd want something in return.

This helps everyone. From people in toronto to china to the US. Finding a cure for sars will restore confidence in travel and economies. I know toronto in particular has had a bad hit from the bad publicity.

Anti-establishment, anti-capitalism types push this off as a bad thing that only helps corporations. Clearly they haven't though it thorugh, or they're just living in lala land.

Re:argh

[markx16]

Clearly they haven't throught it through

Thought it through? On slashdot? Good greif, man, nobody even bother's to READ the original article. God forbid they put some THOUGHT into it before they post.

Re:argh

[sean23007]

Wow. Calm down little man. He says he thinks it's a shame that in order to help humanity and save lives people also have to help someone make millions. He didn't say people shouldn't make millions. He didn't say people shouldn't help them. He said that it's a shame people have no choice. He said it's a shame that the cure for SARS has to be commercial.

Another point: just because what he says makes you mad, he does not automatically become an extreme leftist. Does anyone else find it interesting that conservatives are the majority but always whine about being outnumbered?

the internet can catch sars?

[circletimessquare]

why isn't anyone doing anything about this!

if i click on my inbox will i get sars from it?

this is not funny...

Wups, breaking news

[AndroidCat]

SARS can live on in patients The damned thing can stick around for at least a month.

Not all good

[GraZZ]

The Internet also produces funky websites about SARS like this.

I laughed my ass off when I stumbled across this by accident.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

phones?

[LuckyJ]

I guess they never heard of phones to stay in touch? While it's no high-speed data solution, it's always there.

SARS genome free at Science magazine

[MonkeyBoyo]

Science magazine decided to give free access to its reports on the sequenced genome of SARS. Rather enlightened of them.

O Canada!

[lhand]

...story scientists who cracked SARS' genetic code...

Good thing they did this in Canada; here in the U.S. they'd be arrested for DMCA violations!

Re:Genetic code, cite of a site

[AndroidCat]

You could eventually get to it from the first link in the article, but here you go.

Who needs Iraq

[Anonymous Coward]

When there is a free bioweapon there for the taking in Hong Kong???

How long before our friends with the towels on their heads realize they can destroy a countries ecconomy just by having 10 guys show up and not report their symptoms???

Open communication saves lives

[Tiger Smile]

While I get the distinct feeling that governments fear free and unmolested communications, and to a lesser extent corperations, they must also realize it's importance.

In the United States of America, durring it's forming, we included free and open communication as part of the supreem law of the land. Nothing can trump it.

By voicing ideas, by communicating there is no problem that cannot be solved. Sure a good right can also be used by a bad person to some evil ends. That happens. But that is a price of this freedom.

Still the benefits always out weigh any problems.

Help keep alive the right of free and open communication, the right of the people to gather peaceably assemble(online or in person). If you don't have this right where you live. I firmly believe you should have it. Do what you can to insure you keep or gain this right.

Know you rights...

First Amendment

Crongress shall make no law respecing an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free excercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people to peacably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

pnwed

[Anonymous Coward]

j00 got pnwed by the sars.

In other news ...

[Anonymous Coward]

"SARS joines a very small list of viruses that cannot infect any Windows OS."

Re:This disease is blown way out of proportion.

[lovebyte]

Hey, why don't we wait until SARS kill tens of thousands of people to do somthing about it.

Re:This disease is blown way out of proportion.

[AndroidCat]

Perhaps, but (barring China) we haven't seen it break loose into the open population yet. The fact that the next people hit were the heath care workers and the people trying to figure what it was, was pretty worrisome too. I'll bet that if the Spanish Flu had been bottled up right away, it sure wouldn't have killed as many people as it did.

Here's a media site with other good links.

I Dont Have Anything To Say

[ihatewinXP]

But I felt that I just had to chime in ;)

Karma's a bitch....

Ground Zero

[JohnnySkidmarks]

Maybe first Canadian Place is the country's economic ground zero (as Bay Street's being the Wall St. of Canada and 1st Canadian being a hub of that area), But as for the actual virus contanimation zone, it was mostly held to Scarborough. The hardest hit Torontonians are those in the Asian shops and restaurants in China Town (there are several of these in the Greater Toronto Area), due to hysteria and ignorance which has been thankfully absent from most of the Slashdotter posts.

Re:Ground Zero

[ergo98]

Actually Chinatown was hit just the same as every other entertainment and food venue in the city, but in a hilarious bit of reverse racism, everyone rallied to applaud poor Chinatown, and to ostracize society for their racism (ignore the fact that Chinatown is primarily patronized by Chinese, and hence it was self-directed "racism", if any at all). Oh good hearted people all! At the same time restaurants through the city were wondering why politicians weren't lining up at their door, when they had just as bad of a drop in business.

Re:Ground Zero

[ergo98]

...due to hysteria and ignorance....

Upon re-reading this I have come to realize that you perhaps were not-so-subtly taking issue with the fact that I indicted China in the exporting of devastating diseases. SARS, of course, originated most likely in the Guangdong province of China where they practice ultra-intensive livestock farming, and hygeine of livestock is rare. The Spanish Flu, another worldwide pandemic, also is suspected of originating in the Guangdong province of China. The Asian Bird Flu, a flu that was thankfully contained by a massive effort (and could be considered a "SARS beta version"), again originated in the Guangdong province of China. Viruses have a habit of forming where there is a lack of hygeine (referring to animals held in quarters that disallow them from persuing instinctive hygeine), and lots of hosts to facilitate mutations. Couple that with a government that likes to cover up epidemics, and you have the virus factory that is China. This, of course, has nothing whatsoever to do with Chinatown in Toronto (and any correlation would be an act of astounding racism on the part of the wanna-be-PC bleeding heart).

False Statistics, Media Statistics...

[grimani]

In this day and age, it is foolish to assume journalistic due diligence.

Don't base your numbers on things you've heard (no deaths in U.S.), or reported in the media (Singapore is in dire conditions).

Get numbers from the source: WHO

The U.S. has 2 confirmed deaths and 54 total cases.

Singapore has had 0 new cases for quite some time now. There has been, however, a local chain of transmission (hence the SARS affected designation).

Re:False Statistics, Media Statistics...

[specialized_sworks]

Where does it say 2 have died in the US?

There have been no deatsh in the US.

Re:False Statistics, Media Statistics...

[/dev/trash]

Reread the chart this is what it says:

United States 54 2 0 23 None 30/Apr/2003

The first number is total cases, second number is new cases 3rd number is deaths.

Re:False Statistics, Media Statistics...

[AndroidCat]

According to WHO Cumulative report in the US, there's been 54 total cases, two new cases and zero deaths. Perhaps you read the wrong column?

Re:False Statistics, Media Statistics...

[plnrtrvlr]

Whether accident or deliberate, our friend grimani's post illustrates his point exactly... Check the facts, don't automatically believe what you read.

Re:This disease is blown way out of proportion.

[darkmeridian]

Right now, the response to SARS can be considered to be disproportionate. However, SARS seems to have been a recent member of human-infecting virii and may refine its infectiousness through rapid mutation/evolution. Stopping it now can save many lives later on.

Just imagine if the first hundred people with AIDS were quarantined. How many lives would that have saved?

Re:This disease is blown way out of proportion.

[hackstraw]

Irresponsible and sensational journalism makes people panic for nothing.

Shamelessly taken from http://bowlingforcolumbine.com/library/fear/index. php

We compound our worries beyond all reason. Life expectancy in the United States has doubled during the twentieth century. We are better able to cure and control diseases than any other civilization in history. Yet we hear that phenomenal numbers of us are dreadfully ill. In 1996 Bob Garfield, a magazine writer, reviewed articles about serious diseases published over the course of a year in the Washington Post, the New York Times, and USA Today. He learned that, in addition to 59 million Americans with heart disease, 53 million with migraines, 25 million with osteoporosis, 16 million with obesity, and 3 million with cancer, many Americans suffer from more obscure ailments such as temporomandibular joint disorders (10 million) and brain injuries (2 million). Adding up the estimates, Garfield determined that 543 million Americans are seriously sick-a shocking number in a nation of 266 million inhabitants. "Either as a society we are doomed, or someone is seriously double-dipping," he suggested.

The press (and the people that pay attention to it) like to sensationalize things about 1) disease 2) man against man "crimes" 3) weather/natural disasters. When in actuality your much more likely to die from any number of other accidents than being a "victem" of these headline incidents.

The American Demons will never take Baghdad!

[ergo98]

One thing I hold pride about Canada, versus say China, is that we don't bullshit, and we're very transparent: We _did_ have a short lived epidemic (which is that it quickly spread) that some heroic healthcare got under control. Being pedantic about terminology just reeks of information supression.

I'd say you are safer in toronto than in the states...at least your are less likely to get shot.

You absolutely are safer in absolute terms, and indeed you seem a little defensive that I mentioned "Toronto" and "SARS" in the same paragraph. Yes your chance of getting SARS visiting Toronto is negligable (and certainly far less than being mugged in New York), however my whole point was that this is not, and has never been, a "Toronto" problem : We live in a world of jetliners and quick travel - It's a world problem. Do you think SARS will disappear into the ether? Of course it won't. It'll likely take hold in several third world nations where it'll reappear in the "First World" every so often, at tremendous costs.

Re:The American Demons will never take Baghdad!

[RobinH]

It'll likely take hold in several third world nations where it'll reappear in the "First World" every so often, at tremendous costs.

Ok then, that solves it, I'm moving to the "Second World", wherever the heck that is, because apparently they don't get SARS at all!

Wow...

[Anonymous Coward]

They have the internet on Computers Now?

One problem...

[ShieldWolf]

Scientists have only identified the virus in only about 40% of the patients infected with SARS, and they have identified in patients who DON'T have SARS. Which means that cracking the genetic code of this virus will mean exactly jack sh*t for finding a cure.

Internet Thwarted Chinese Coverup of SARS

[reporter]

The epidemic of sudden acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) highlights a key characteristic of Chinese culture. If you have a problem, do not discuss it. If you have a serious problem, aggressively hide it. This Chinese attempt to cover up an epidemic has caused it to spread to all corners of the world.

Western technology has successfully fought the Chinese cover up. The Internet and the blinding speed with which it transmits information has effectively thwarted all attempts by the Chinese to cover up their problem. In fact, here is a sampling of the information about SARS that is readily available from the Internet.

1. "How the 'global village' faced SARS"

2. "Experts Expect SARS to Continue Spreading"

3. "More SARS Cases Are Reported; Virus Found to Persist in Patients"

4. "China and SARS"

15 years ago, if an epidemic like SARS had erupted, I would have had a much harder time in finding information describing its origin and its symptoms. Now, thanks to the Internet, I know that the Chinese in Southern China "helped" to develop this disease by sleeping with farm animals. The virus crossed the species barrier from, probably, a pig into humans. The Chinese then covered up the problem and, thus, helped to spread it to the rest of the world. According to the latest reports, the SARS virus will now become a permanent part of this world.

Re:Internet Thwarted Chinese Coverup of SARS

[ForestGrump]

What if something like this came out of the middle east? Then what would happen?

Then it would all be a "terrorist attack" or something of SoDamn's doing.

If it brokeout in America, it would be a terrorist attack.
South America, then it would be some undiscovered disease out of the rainforest. and then the enviornmentalists would use this as another way to say "stop chopping down our rainforest!" and I would simply reply...its a dangerous place...its best if we nuke it.

Out of eropue? well we have a pretty good pilitical view, so it must yet be a terrorist attack from the middle east?

-Grump.

Bullshit!

[devphil]

Isn't this tired myth dead yet?

Fuck, I just debunked it less than two weeks ago. Guess you're one of the millions who don't browse at +3. :-)

It was all about research. Not necessarily acedemic, but research.

Re:Bullshit!

[Merk]

It might help if you added links to backup your assertions. *shrug*

There is a cure.

[Deimosuva]

The cure for SARS is chicken noodle soup, Dayquill and a Sprite.

And on a slightly related topic, if we want to take over a few more countries, all we have to do is rub Chinese people on some blankets and give the blankets as peace offerings.

Re:This disease is blown way out of proportion.

[AndroidCat]

Experts say SARS virus mutating quickly Happy happy..

Predicted in Darwin's Radio

[Luckster7]

Greg Bear won a Nebula for Darwin's Radio in 2001, the book was published in 1999. In this book there is a retrovirus that they are trying to figure out, and they use the Internet as a large scale method of publishing information on it.

Re:This disease is blown way out of proportion.

[StrawberryFrog]

According to the may 2nd report on CBC news, SARS has killed at =~ 418 people worldwide.

Compare this with annual deaths from the flu [proratenih.com] which kills approximately =~ 36000 people in the USA alone.

What the fuck?

The flu situation is not expected to get much worse. The SARS situation will get far far worse unless strong rapid action is taken. That's what.

Canada "ground zero" for AIDS

[peter303]

When you read Randy Shlitz's book "And the band played on" you'll meet a flight attendent from Canada who was reponsible for spreading AIDS across North America. He was called "patient zero". Had sex with hundreds of other guys who often became the first AIDS patients in their towns.

Al Gore would be proud to read this

[gregger]

I bet this makes him a proud poppa.

And to your friends that are disgusted with the Internet, I'd say it doesn't sound like your they have discovered Fark.com... at least someone keeps abreast of the kitten population crisis.

TTFN

the computers greatest use...

[zors]

is as a communication tool. Thats why in the past 50 years we have invented more than at any other time in history. as the world becomes networked, it becomes easier to work together. problems on one side of the world are connected with resources on the other side.

Uh Oh

[senorsangre]

SARS and the internet?!?! I'd better update my virus protection.

SARS=Effective Scam at the right time

[gestapo4you]

Who benefits?

www.sarstravel.com

Right, the TV really saved lives that day

[simul]

I mean, think of all the political manpulation that would have failed if the TV wasn't there to keep the fear alive!

Media scare helps fight SARS

[simul]

Scientists who cracked SARS genetic code credit the media scare as a key: 'Without this massive media scare, we'd probably be busy working on AIDS', jokes Steven Jones. Other contributing factors included the availability of Mountain Dew, the fact that most of the researchers went to college, and Top Ramen.

Flu kills over half a million ever year

[Anonymous Coward]

As has been said by many other rational folks, SARS is nothing compared to many of the other diseases that plague mankind. The half a million deaths from your regular, everday flu is a number from WHO and that's in a normal year. The number goes up much higher in epidemic years. And if you check the WHO website now, its says 3,000 AFrican children die every DAY from malaria. If adults and non-Africans are included in the count, over 1 millions deaths a year. And then of course there's AIDS and TB. Even good old measles killed 777,000 in 2001. So SARS is really minor minor league. While the quarantine and strict airport precautions are justified to prevent its spread, the hysteria is causing so much more damage than the disease itself.

Re:This disease is blown way out of proportion.

[MillionthMonkey]

Just imagine if the first hundred people with AIDS were quarantined. How many lives would that have saved?

Almost all of them, minus 100.

Of course you have to identify who these hundred people are, or else you can't really quarantine them. By the time 100 people have been identified as having a disease, a couple thousand people might be walking around with it.

I have a better idea- quarantine patient zero!

Re:This disease is blown way out of proportion.

[juhaz]

Yeah, sure, the flu kills lot more people.

Why? It's everywhere, so more people catch it. SARS isn't, yet, but if it's belittled, it just may be.

SARS fatality rates may not be any worse than those of the influenza, but even if it's only equal, that's bad enough, if it's not caught in time, in few years we may have TWO flu-like unstoppaple diseases that BOTH kill 40000 people a year. Not to mention those economic losses. I don't think that's anything to be looking forward to, little bit of blowing out of proportion is helluva lot better than your irresponsible pooh-poohing.

Personal note regarding SARS

[Slaveway]

I hope the Scientists/ Doctors find a cure/ Vaccine.
The Woman I love with all of my Heart is currently in Asai visiting her family.
She will be there for atleast a few Months more and I hope she will stay safe.