OK. Just curious. I'd have guessed about 80% of drugs are natural products or derivitives. Wouldn't have thought there were so many biologicals on the market, but I guess that makes sense. Cheers.
Where does that statistic come from? I work in natural products biosynthesis I always thought it was much, much greater. What's the other 75%? And don't say combinatorial chemistry.
But the logic is flawed. The easiest way to counter a missile defense is to build more missiles and overwhelm the defense. It's logically going to lead to proliferation, not deterrence. It's retarded.
Speaking as an avid Bush-hater, I can say for most people I know he's not hated because he speaks poorly. In fact, I can agree on many of the things he says in his stump speeches, and the sentiment of his words. The problem is his actions. Everything the guy has done has been to favor either corporate power-grabs, or his own re-election. So when you listen to his speeches, realize he's lying to you, and on top of that mispronouncing words and using poor grammar, it's just like a knife to the skull.
Well, I went to Johns Hopkins, made ~$16,000 at the time. Not much, agreed, but Baltimore is a super-cheap place to live (at one point was paying $195 a month for rent splitting a house), and they pay health insurance on top of that. And interest-free student loans are easy to get at that stage. This was about three years ago. One great way to get into biology is to leverage your skills on a problem to learn new ones. Fields get fuzzier in grad school. I went in with a chemistry degree and spent most of my day doing molecular biology, ostensibly to learn the chemical abilities of a biological molecule. I ended up publishing a paper (Journal of Molecular Biology 2002 Oct 25;323(3):585-98), on a poorly designed, overly complicated Perl script- the first one I ever wrote (the biochemical principles behind it were sound.) The program was slow, and I should have, in hindsight, gone over to the CS department and found a good coder who could have really saved me some time.
So, if you're really interested, look into CS grad school, and seek out a biochemical problem that needs (or would be aided by) a computational solution. It's definitely possible.
Plus, speaking as someone who does biological and genetic engineering in a research lab, why would anybody spend multiple thousands of dollars on the medical-grade equipment, plasticware, reagents, biological media, etc to do it in your basement, when just about any university will remit your tuition and pay you a perfectly nice stipend to go to grad school if you really want to, and let you use that equipment for free. In fact I had a friend in grad school who had the same deal and he didn't even have a bachelor's degree (and had been working on an English degree!). Hell you don't even need to be able to speak English at most schools I've been to.
Actually, if I'm allowed to do gene sequencing of each generation of dog, I'll bet it could be done in less than 10 generations. The protein motifs for GFP (green fluorescent protein) are very well-understood now. I know you said selective breeding *alone*, but gene sequencing the puppies is only monitoring, not making direct changes...
Giving someone a monopoly right to sell something also gives them the right to artificial scarcity to inflate prices, thereby denying the medicine to the poor (ie AIDS drugs for Africans), and encourages the development of treatments rather than cures (witness that almost ALL vaccine research is done in government labs - there just isn't a steady revenue stream from them).
Let the Pharmas do what they've been doing. That doesn't have to change. It's only going to help medical research to open up tools in the long run because academics and small labs will have more resources to do research.
Re:Does this work for non native speakers?
on
Can You Raed Tihs?
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· Score: 1
Just tried it with my Japanese (mostly fluent) coworker. I didn't explain, I just showed him the text and said "read this", and it took him a second or two to flip a switch in his brain. He said "I don't recognize the words" and I said "Yes, you do. Just read it." and then like magic he could. I'll try the Chinese guys here who don't speak English as well.
Re:I thought so.
on
Genome Surprise
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· Score: 2, Insightful
The brightest minds of biology did, over 10 years ago... and so the central dogma of biology ("one gene => one protein => one function") was taught to a generation of students.
Sorry. The "Central Dogma" is DNA->RNA->protein. Still true. Only the ignorant have misinterpreted it that way.
(It's also been added to. For example we now know that occasionally RNA->DNA and once in a great while DNA->protein.)
Well, there you go. That's not the only real argument. The fact that a virus replicates is what makes it the gray area that it is seen as, because replication is seen as just one of the conditions necessary for life. Another commonly accepted requirement is metabolism - that is, breakdown of chemicals to harness energy so as to overcome entropy and enthalpy, which as far as I'm aware none are known to do.
Well, after a human dies (medically defined as brain death, right?) lots of chemical reactions are still happening. So, maybe they're still "alive" when science says we're dead?? I remember we did an experiment in grade school to determine whether an apple was still alive after it was picked from the tree. Answer: maybe, and it depends on how you define "alive". It's all semantics.
I've personally said the enzymes I'm doing experiments with "died" after a week of storage. It's a coloquialism that my colleagues understand, but it doesn't mean I thought my enzyme was ever a living system or "alive", just like the "bugs" I use to produce it aren't insects, but are bacteria. In the original thread the poster said viruses are "life", or "alive", and I wanted to point out by commonly accepted strict definitions of "life" most scientists I know would disagree strenuously.
Gotta disagree. You could consider a virus to be "active" or "inactive," not alive or dead. It's the same as with any chemical catalyst or protein. Just because something can or can't do a chemical reaction, doesn't mean it's alive or dead.
Even so, most textbooks will say it's a gray area, but generally come down on the side that viruses aren't technically alive because they don't have metabolic systems.
Actually, I thought so too. I have a late model DC, and heard about this and never bothered to burn a CD and try. After finding out that an import Capcom vs SNK 2 was going to run me $80 I started playing with burning, and it works. Mine's a 12/01, if I remember right. The disc stops playing after an hour and a half. Bad burn, or something else? Who knows.
That's great and all when you're talking about heading to the club down the street and paying a $10 cover to see a band you've never heard of (which I do. Lots.) But have you seen what a ticket runs lately for a big(ger) show? I really wanted to go and see Sascha and John Digweed and the Chemical Brothers at Nation (in DC) next month, but they want 37.50 for each ticket. Add in the ticket for my girlfriend, Ticketmaster's rediculous extortion fees ($25 to mail a ticket my ass!), and we're talking $150 for two nights of maybe 6 hours entertainment each night at best. Can't happen on my budget. But your sentiment is right in principle, if not in practice.
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I'll take one if anybody wants to hand one out.
Hey! The first rule of usenet is nobody talks about usenet.
>Please inform me (and others, perhaps) as to how Howard Stern furthers the fight against infringements of the First Amendment.
Howard Stern and the stations that broadcast him were fined several million dollars for loosely defining the term "blumpkin." It's ludicrous.
>In my opinion, he's purile, insulting, egotistical and in general, an ass.
And that's exactly why some of us find his show entertaining.
You obviously aren't married.
OK. Just curious. I'd have guessed about 80% of drugs are natural products or derivitives. Wouldn't have thought there were so many biologicals on the market, but I guess that makes sense. Cheers.
Where does that statistic come from? I work in natural products biosynthesis I always thought it was much, much greater. What's the other 75%? And don't say combinatorial chemistry.
But the logic is flawed. The easiest way to counter a missile defense is to build more missiles and overwhelm the defense. It's logically going to lead to proliferation, not deterrence. It's retarded.
Speaking as an avid Bush-hater, I can say for most people I know he's not hated because he speaks poorly. In fact, I can agree on many of the things he says in his stump speeches, and the sentiment of his words. The problem is his actions. Everything the guy has done has been to favor either corporate power-grabs, or his own re-election. So when you listen to his speeches, realize he's lying to you, and on top of that mispronouncing words and using poor grammar, it's just like a knife to the skull.
So, if you're really interested, look into CS grad school, and seek out a biochemical problem that needs (or would be aided by) a computational solution. It's definitely possible.
Plus, speaking as someone who does biological and genetic engineering in a research lab, why would anybody spend multiple thousands of dollars on the medical-grade equipment, plasticware, reagents, biological media, etc to do it in your basement, when just about any university will remit your tuition and pay you a perfectly nice stipend to go to grad school if you really want to, and let you use that equipment for free. In fact I had a friend in grad school who had the same deal and he didn't even have a bachelor's degree (and had been working on an English degree!). Hell you don't even need to be able to speak English at most schools I've been to.
Actually, I had the same thought, and then noticed that somebody was getting out of the cab on the other side.
Well, then you weren't willing to suspend some disbelief for a fantasy movie. After all, the word fantasy is in the title.
>Why do you think the posters only show its "looks" and not its audio propities...?
Um...because most posters aren't audible, as far as I'm aware.
Actually, if I'm allowed to do gene sequencing of each generation of dog, I'll bet it could be done in less than 10 generations. The protein motifs for GFP (green fluorescent protein) are very well-understood now. I know you said selective breeding *alone*, but gene sequencing the puppies is only monitoring, not making direct changes...
Giving someone a monopoly right to sell something also gives them the right to artificial scarcity to inflate prices, thereby denying the medicine to the poor (ie AIDS drugs for Africans), and encourages the development of treatments rather than cures (witness that almost ALL vaccine research is done in government labs - there just isn't a steady revenue stream from them).
Let the Pharmas do what they've been doing. That doesn't have to change. It's only going to help medical research to open up tools in the long run because academics and small labs will have more resources to do research.
Just tried it with my Japanese (mostly fluent) coworker. I didn't explain, I just showed him the text and said "read this", and it took him a second or two to flip a switch in his brain. He said "I don't recognize the words" and I said "Yes, you do. Just read it." and then like magic he could. I'll try the Chinese guys here who don't speak English as well.
Sorry. The "Central Dogma" is DNA->RNA->protein. Still true. Only the ignorant have misinterpreted it that way.
(It's also been added to. For example we now know that occasionally RNA->DNA and once in a great while DNA->protein.)
Well, there you go. That's not the only real argument. The fact that a virus replicates is what makes it the gray area that it is seen as, because replication is seen as just one of the conditions necessary for life. Another commonly accepted requirement is metabolism - that is, breakdown of chemicals to harness energy so as to overcome entropy and enthalpy, which as far as I'm aware none are known to do.
I won't belabor the point any more. Sorry.
Well, after a human dies (medically defined as brain death, right?) lots of chemical reactions are still happening. So, maybe they're still "alive" when science says we're dead?? I remember we did an experiment in grade school to determine whether an apple was still alive after it was picked from the tree. Answer: maybe, and it depends on how you define "alive". It's all semantics.
I've personally said the enzymes I'm doing experiments with "died" after a week of storage. It's a coloquialism that my colleagues understand, but it doesn't mean I thought my enzyme was ever a living system or "alive", just like the "bugs" I use to produce it aren't insects, but are bacteria. In the original thread the poster said viruses are "life", or "alive", and I wanted to point out by commonly accepted strict definitions of "life" most scientists I know would disagree strenuously.
Even so, most textbooks will say it's a gray area, but generally come down on the side that viruses aren't technically alive because they don't have metabolic systems.
Actually, I thought so too. I have a late model DC, and heard about this and never bothered to burn a CD and try. After finding out that an import Capcom vs SNK 2 was going to run me $80 I started playing with burning, and it works. Mine's a 12/01, if I remember right. The disc stops playing after an hour and a half. Bad burn, or something else? Who knows.
That's great and all when you're talking about heading to the club down the street and paying a $10 cover to see a band you've never heard of (which I do. Lots.) But have you seen what a ticket runs lately for a big(ger) show? I really wanted to go and see Sascha and John Digweed and the Chemical Brothers at Nation (in DC) next month, but they want 37.50 for each ticket. Add in the ticket for my girlfriend, Ticketmaster's rediculous extortion fees ($25 to mail a ticket my ass!), and we're talking $150 for two nights of maybe 6 hours entertainment each night at best. Can't happen on my budget. But your sentiment is right in principle, if not in practice.
Her name is Freda, but her middle name is George. And she's a boxer. Seriously. I saw her fight on cable a few weeks ago.
:Do you actually believe that the biotech companies have posters on the wall saying 'What natural system can we fuck up today?'
Dude, I work in biotech and I would kill to have a poster that says that on my wall! ThinkGeek pay attention!