Chief Prognosticator » Medical
Why go computer geeks need a blog post devoted to them? Well let’s just say I have a vested interested in this knowledge. If you’ve spent the long winter months inside your room sitting in front of the faint glow of a 22″ LCD computer screen, you probably are looking pretty pale right now. When you head out into the sun this summer (perhaps on your way to the nearest GameStop), make sure you cover up with UV Natural Sunscreens. Containing only natural ingredients, this sunscreen will keep you free of burn. Built-in moisturizers make this all natural zinc sunscreen from uv natrual a great choice to keep you in action.
Who needs plain old dating sites when you have the Internet. From Goth dating to BBW dating, there is a specialized dating site online for practically any special interest or situation you are in (or into). But now here’s the most amazing one I’m come across… STDmatch.com. No, it’s not like the well known Match.com — this one is for people with STDs. The idea is that people who have a certain STD, you are comfortable dating someone with the same STD. No more worrying about outbreaks or shame — on this site you find people who are just like you, with the same worries and troubles… with Sexually Transmitted Diseases.
Is this a bad science fiction story or a new movie pitch? I wish. But unfortunately this news is the real thing. Out of Newcastle University in England, researchers have created a cow-human embryo which lived for 3 whole days in the lab! The hybrid was 99.9% human and 0.1% cow!
Labeled as “important research” this test could be the first of many. It could also be the next step in the destruction of humanity…
The first complete mapping of the Human Genome was done by, well, who else, The Human Genome Project between 1990 and 2003. Since then additional projects have been executed in the private and public sector including one by the company Celera Genomics. They mapped DNA from five different people including their own lead scientist Craig Venter. Just a few weeks ago (September 4th, 2007), Craig Venter published his complete DNA sequence for the world to see and examine. His is the first genome of a single individual released.
This raises some very tricky implications of human genomes. What sort of privacy laws need to be in place? Or what about genetic discrimination. Think about it — we are becoming more able to determine future susceptibility to diseases based on genetic information. What if people started being discriminated against according to genetic abnormalities or certain proclivities? Yeah, the future is here and I don’t want it to be like GATTACA.
There is some legislation currently being developped for this but it’s not yet approved. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) would prohibit health insurance companies from discriminating for coverage when the reason is only based on a genetic predispotion. The GINA would also prevent similar discrimination in the workplace against companies who would want to fire someone based on an increased insurance liablity. GINA passed the United States House of Representatives as H.R. 493 on 25 April 2007 (by a vote of 420 to 3) but is stuck in the United States Senate.
Image: (Source Wikipedia, cGNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2
One thing has become clear to me — life extension and perhaps even immortality is not a right but a luxury. As such there will certainly be only a few “Haves” and a lot of “Have-Nots”. Sure basic medicine can help you live a long life with a good chance at reaching median life expectancy, but in the coming decades there will be serious medical advances that can possibly extend your life decades if not centuries. Most people will not be able to afford it and for good reason — we can’t have a planet full of people who don’t die! No instead, only those who can afford tens and hundreds of millions of dollars will be able to achieve those goals. People might actually spend their entire working lives saving up, not for retirement, but for … more life!
The first complete mapping of the Human Genome was done by, well, who else, The Human Genome Project between 1990 and 2003. Since then additional projects have been executed in the private and public sector including one by the company Celera Genomics. They mapped DNA from five different people including their own lead scientist Craig Venter. Just a few weeks ago (September 4th, 2007), Craig Venter published his complete DNA sequence for the world to see and examine. His is the first genome of a single individual released.
This raises some very tricky implications of human genomes. What sort of privacy laws need to be in place? Or what about genetic discrimination. Think about it — we are becoming more able to determine future susceptibility to diseases based on genetic information. What if people started being discriminated against according to genetic abnormalities or certain proclivities? Yeah, the future is here and I don’t want it to be like GATTACA.
There is some legislation currently being developped for this but it’s not yet approved. The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA) would prohibit health insurance companies from discriminating for coverage when the reason is only based on a genetic predispotion. The GINA would also prevent similar discrimination in the workplace against companies who would want to fire someone based on an increased insurance liablity. GINA passed the United States House of Representatives as H.R. 493 on 25 April 2007 (by a vote of 420 to 3) but is stuck in the United States Senate.
Image: (Source Wikipedia, cGNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2
