Hmm, my ID's quite close to a prime number... I don't know if I can be bothered to go out and get one though. The "gerbil" moniker has followed me from about the age of 13...
I use KDE and Gnome on the same distro. Generally I use KDE, but I can use either just as well, so if most major software companies go the Gnome way, I'll be right there with them. At least somebody is trying to make some useful decisions, rather than splitting things up. If only more companies would do this...
Thanks for the link, it's very interesting - but I haven't had time to look through it all yet. It did look very cool though:)
In terms of HIV treatment, you might find it interesting to look up RNA Interference (RNAi). I wrote an essay on the subject for my degree and found it fascinating, especially for its potential to treat many diseases, including HIV.
Try looking for:
RNA Interference: The next genetics revolution - Safia Wasi
RNA Interference And Human Disease - Cheng, Moore, Sakamoto
I have read about this hypothesis, but I specifically chose not to address what factors were selective for the mutation. I am fully aware that there are many strains of HIV, however in terms of genomic differences, I believe, types 1 and 2 are the most different.
I was referring to the HIV epidemic in Africa because I wanted to make the point that the CCR-5 mutation would not be beneficial because type 2 is far more prevalent in Africa, and is unaffected by the mutation.
"Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 2, the second AIDS-associated human retrovirus, differs from HIV-1 in its natural history, infectivity, and pathogenicity, as well as in details of its genomic structure and molecular behavior."
Type 2 is the predominant strain of the virus in Africa, so knowledge of the delta 32 mutation will have little effect on the spread of the virus in this epidemic.
However, this discovery can still potentially lead to a vaccination/cure for HIV type 1 which is the predominant strain in Europe, and possibly other areas of the world (including the middle east and western Asia), which is still very necessary.
I think my main reason for switching was probably something along the lines of "Ooo, shiny".
I downloaded the Ubuntu LiveCD at work on a whim, just because someone mentioned it, and when I installed it I was pleasantly surprised to see a lovely (if rather brown) desktop. So I kept it. (And changed the colour to a kind of light blue/grey combination.)
Plus, Darwinia works under Linux, but not Windows. Windows calmly informed me that my graphics card didn't support pixel shaders, but Ubuntu just went ahead and enabled them anyway. (I turned them off pretty quick, they slow things down too much, but it's nice to know they're there.)
Slashdot Mirror
All Hail Google?
But it does apparently contain Jadar.
Hmm, my ID's quite close to a prime number... I don't know if I can be bothered to go out and get one though. The "gerbil" moniker has followed me from about the age of 13...
now THIS is a recent addition. :) It would be much cooler, though, if it was prime...
I use KDE and Gnome on the same distro. Generally I use KDE, but I can use either just as well, so if most major software companies go the Gnome way, I'll be right there with them. At least somebody is trying to make some useful decisions, rather than splitting things up. If only more companies would do this...
Thanks for the link, it's very interesting - but I haven't had time to look through it all yet. It did look very cool though :)
In terms of HIV treatment, you might find it interesting to look up RNA Interference (RNAi). I wrote an essay on the subject for my degree and found it fascinating, especially for its potential to treat many diseases, including HIV.
Try looking for:
RNA Interference: The next genetics revolution - Safia Wasi
RNA Interference And Human Disease - Cheng, Moore, Sakamoto
And don't forget the Nintendo Revolution, whatever that will end up actually being.
I have read about this hypothesis, but I specifically chose not to address what factors were selective for the mutation. I am fully aware that there are many strains of HIV, however in terms of genomic differences, I believe, types 1 and 2 are the most different.
I was referring to the HIV epidemic in Africa because I wanted to make the point that the CCR-5 mutation would not be beneficial because type 2 is far more prevalent in Africa, and is unaffected by the mutation.
...But the gene only stops HIV type 1. The delta 32 gene mutation would not prevent infection from HIV type 2.
From this journal:
"Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) type 2, the second AIDS-associated human retrovirus, differs from HIV-1 in its natural history, infectivity, and pathogenicity, as well as in details of its genomic structure and molecular behavior."
Type 2 is the predominant strain of the virus in Africa, so knowledge of the delta 32 mutation will have little effect on the spread of the virus in this epidemic.
However, this discovery can still potentially lead to a vaccination/cure for HIV type 1 which is the predominant strain in Europe, and possibly other areas of the world (including the middle east and western Asia), which is still very necessary.
I think my main reason for switching was probably something along the lines of "Ooo, shiny".
I downloaded the Ubuntu LiveCD at work on a whim, just because someone mentioned it, and when I installed it I was pleasantly surprised to see a lovely (if rather brown) desktop. So I kept it. (And changed the colour to a kind of light blue/grey combination.)
Plus, Darwinia works under Linux, but not Windows. Windows calmly informed me that my graphics card didn't support pixel shaders, but Ubuntu just went ahead and enabled them anyway. (I turned them off pretty quick, they slow things down too much, but it's nice to know they're there.)