Bison
I think the reintroduction of the bison is an inspiring idea because it represents a rare confluence of ecological and social ideals. It's horrifying what happened to the ecosystem in the plains states after the bison were nearly exterminated. The reintroduction would enable the recreation of a viable and natural relationship between and among the land, the creatures on it and humans. This is a rare thing. It will also likely benefit the tribes because it reestablishes an important element of their culture lost with the bison.
Breast Cancer Pill
I am quite skeptical on this one. It seems to me that the manufacturer is looking for a secondary market for a drug that has proven politically unwelcome. (Viagra was originally developed as a headache med, until lots of men taking it reported certain happy side effects, which was paydirt for the manufacturer. It's also very possible that the drug will not be effective in protecting against cancer. There have been countless cases where a drug works in mice but not in humans.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Deep Ecology
Deep Ecology Platform
Deep ecology provides a fairly radical framework to analyze the relative position of humans on the planet. Basically, deep ecology requires that we view ourselves as just another species, not more important or less. It requires a radical shift in our moral reasoning to one where our survival and comfort is not of paramount importance, or even a primary consideration. I think it threatens American values more than any others, given our culture's belief that consumption is the key to a satisfying existence.
I think the platform is visionary, particularly given the fact that it was issued when the level of acceptance of a more ecological sensibility was in vogue. Its premises are readily acceptable to communities in Northern California, but I don't think people in middle America are likely to be sign on very quickly.
Ecosystems: Strong and Fragile
Ecosystems are strong and fragile. They show incredible resilience in being to adapt over time to changes. The problem is that rapid change to the environment, for example, threaten that underlying strength. Evolution of a species can take multiple generations, or thousands of years depending on which evolutionary biologists you believe. Similarly, evolution of a complex system like an ecosystem takes a long time. The rate of change in climate and in other aspects of our environment that is being caused by humans is so rapid that ecosystems are being undermined. Their delicate balance is being thrown into chaos. This, unfortunately causes a downward spiral causing more climate change.
Social Ecology
Social Ecology looks at the relationship between social institutions such as government and other cultural entities and the environment. It is only by analyzing both that meaningful improvement in our use of resources can occur. Clearly, at this point, social structures and the environment are on a collision course. Because of the materialist culture which dominates the whole world (west and east), we are consuming without any recognition of scarcity. Scarcity has even become a dirty word in lots of circles. It's all about abundance these days. Think big and get big.
Social ecology challenges social institutions to change the way we see the environment, and to make more sensible choices regarding the way we inhabit the world we live in. I think the idea is promising, but whether we have institutions that are amenable to any agenda other than one promoting consumption and the good life is questionable.
Deep ecology provides a fairly radical framework to analyze the relative position of humans on the planet. Basically, deep ecology requires that we view ourselves as just another species, not more important or less. It requires a radical shift in our moral reasoning to one where our survival and comfort is not of paramount importance, or even a primary consideration. I think it threatens American values more than any others, given our culture's belief that consumption is the key to a satisfying existence.
I think the platform is visionary, particularly given the fact that it was issued when the level of acceptance of a more ecological sensibility was in vogue. Its premises are readily acceptable to communities in Northern California, but I don't think people in middle America are likely to be sign on very quickly.
Ecosystems: Strong and Fragile
Ecosystems are strong and fragile. They show incredible resilience in being to adapt over time to changes. The problem is that rapid change to the environment, for example, threaten that underlying strength. Evolution of a species can take multiple generations, or thousands of years depending on which evolutionary biologists you believe. Similarly, evolution of a complex system like an ecosystem takes a long time. The rate of change in climate and in other aspects of our environment that is being caused by humans is so rapid that ecosystems are being undermined. Their delicate balance is being thrown into chaos. This, unfortunately causes a downward spiral causing more climate change.
Social Ecology
Social Ecology looks at the relationship between social institutions such as government and other cultural entities and the environment. It is only by analyzing both that meaningful improvement in our use of resources can occur. Clearly, at this point, social structures and the environment are on a collision course. Because of the materialist culture which dominates the whole world (west and east), we are consuming without any recognition of scarcity. Scarcity has even become a dirty word in lots of circles. It's all about abundance these days. Think big and get big.
Social ecology challenges social institutions to change the way we see the environment, and to make more sensible choices regarding the way we inhabit the world we live in. I think the idea is promising, but whether we have institutions that are amenable to any agenda other than one promoting consumption and the good life is questionable.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Weel Eight: Cell Biology HIV and AIDS
Western Approaches to AIDS
I think that the Western approach to AIDS has bought a lot of people a lot of time. The drugs available to treat HIV and AIDS are costly, both financially and to the general health of the patient. But they do seem to be working when they are available and that is an amazing thing. I think it's a tribute to social activism that the medical community mobilized and addressed the AIDS crisis in the relatively short time that it did.
Sadly, it's not perfect. It is extrememly expensive and too often unavailable. And, it makes people sick, degrading quality of life. The danger is that AIDS and HIV are dismissed as a thing of the past, and that better drugs and therapies aren't fast-tracked through the process of development and distribution. Too many people think that AIDS has been cured and the resultant lack of attention is scary.
Can TCM Strengthen the Immune System
I think it can. Qi gong and acupuncture can stimulate our immune response and ramp up our bodies' ability to fight disease. It should be made a part of cancer and HIV therapies. In one study involving cancer patients, the phagocytic rate, which is a measure of the immune function, increased in the the group practicing qi gong but decreased in the control group. So, there you have it...
The Deal that Saved the Whale
I think that the Deal that Saved the Whale is a wonderful accomplishment. Any conservation effort that can meet the financial needs of indigenous populations while also conserving the environment is ideal. But, the scary part of the article is how much development on the Baja peninsula is taking place, and what the effects of that are almost certainly going to be.
I think that the Western approach to AIDS has bought a lot of people a lot of time. The drugs available to treat HIV and AIDS are costly, both financially and to the general health of the patient. But they do seem to be working when they are available and that is an amazing thing. I think it's a tribute to social activism that the medical community mobilized and addressed the AIDS crisis in the relatively short time that it did.
Sadly, it's not perfect. It is extrememly expensive and too often unavailable. And, it makes people sick, degrading quality of life. The danger is that AIDS and HIV are dismissed as a thing of the past, and that better drugs and therapies aren't fast-tracked through the process of development and distribution. Too many people think that AIDS has been cured and the resultant lack of attention is scary.
Can TCM Strengthen the Immune System
I think it can. Qi gong and acupuncture can stimulate our immune response and ramp up our bodies' ability to fight disease. It should be made a part of cancer and HIV therapies. In one study involving cancer patients, the phagocytic rate, which is a measure of the immune function, increased in the the group practicing qi gong but decreased in the control group. So, there you have it...
The Deal that Saved the Whale
I think that the Deal that Saved the Whale is a wonderful accomplishment. Any conservation effort that can meet the financial needs of indigenous populations while also conserving the environment is ideal. But, the scary part of the article is how much development on the Baja peninsula is taking place, and what the effects of that are almost certainly going to be.
Week Seven: Cell Biology and Cancer
Western Approaches to Cancer
I think the Western approach to Cancer is very unsophisticated. There are too many anomalies to believe that we have the whole story. Why do some patients survive when they are not expected to, and the other way around? It happens too much to create any faith in the western understanding of the disease.
It seems pretty clear that the environment is playing a role in cancer, and that there is some genetic component to it. But, why does it afflict some in a family and not others, or some in Chernobyl or Nagasaki and not others.
TCM and Cancer
I think the Chinese approach of recognizing the psycho-physiological connection holds the key. As we learned from the great presentation on the Biology of Belief, there is too much to ignore on this. The problem is that this type of inquiry seldom lends itself to generalization, and so the progress in dealing with the disease will be zig-zaggy.
Are We Still Evolving?
Hah! It's so typical of us to assume we are no longer evolving because we're perfect, right? I'm not surprised at all that there has been evolution in the last 10,000 years.
Of course not. The world keeps changing and so do we. I think it's interesting to look at the lactose-tolerant gene and that it developed in agrarian northern europe. It's cool that our bodies, over generations, update for new situations. I hope we don't need to adapt to excessive UV radiation, heat and swimming as global warming sets in...
I think the Western approach to Cancer is very unsophisticated. There are too many anomalies to believe that we have the whole story. Why do some patients survive when they are not expected to, and the other way around? It happens too much to create any faith in the western understanding of the disease.
It seems pretty clear that the environment is playing a role in cancer, and that there is some genetic component to it. But, why does it afflict some in a family and not others, or some in Chernobyl or Nagasaki and not others.
TCM and Cancer
I think the Chinese approach of recognizing the psycho-physiological connection holds the key. As we learned from the great presentation on the Biology of Belief, there is too much to ignore on this. The problem is that this type of inquiry seldom lends itself to generalization, and so the progress in dealing with the disease will be zig-zaggy.
Are We Still Evolving?
Hah! It's so typical of us to assume we are no longer evolving because we're perfect, right? I'm not surprised at all that there has been evolution in the last 10,000 years.
Of course not. The world keeps changing and so do we. I think it's interesting to look at the lactose-tolerant gene and that it developed in agrarian northern europe. It's cool that our bodies, over generations, update for new situations. I hope we don't need to adapt to excessive UV radiation, heat and swimming as global warming sets in...
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Week Six
Living and Non-Living Systems
This subject threatens to become very intense and arcane. I can't say I fully understand the autopoetic definition of living systems. I really don't understand the role of cognition in it. That being said, I'll just throw some thoughts out there.
It's hard to come up with a notion of a living system that is any smaller in scope than the whole earth, or maybe the whole universe. Living systems are supposed to be self-sustaining. But, nothing is really self sustaining. All creatures need to feed themselves, and so rely on being able to find food. When one species dies out, it threatens the rest of the food chain. So, are any of those systems self-sustaining? Also, we all need certain environmental conditions to survive. Global warming could threaten and/or destroy most of life on earth. So, does that make any of the species self sustaining? I don't think so. The concept of Gaia comes up for me, and the idea that the earth is an organic, living system. Perhaps it is self-sustaining, doing what it needs to do to we humans in order to ensure its survival.
Tools and Language in Chimps
I find this fascinating and exciting, but not all that surprising. We have learned over the years of complex social structures among lots of other species, and not just primates. Whales have complex communication systems, as do dolphin. And, it's not just mammals. Crows have complex communication systems. We are so species-centric that we are forever surprised by these revelations. In my opinion, humans are the ones who need to work on their language and communication. If we're so smart, why are the polar ice caps melting? Let's talk about that!!!
The other cool thing about chimps is that while the one is burrowing the hole, the others sit and watch and wait their turn! That only happens in Canada. Definitely not in New York. Why do we think we're so much more highly evolved?
Chinese Medicine Gaining Respectability in the West
What I find interesting about the mainstreaming of Chinese medicine is the way it's happening. It is a grass roots movement, driven by consumer demand because people witness its effectiveness. I love the fact that it is growing at break neck pace. I looked for statistics about the increase in demand, and couldn't find anything recent. But in 2002, 2.1 million people visited an acupuncturist, and by 2003 over 8 million people did. That's an unbelievable jump. I love it when people vote with their feet, and on the strength of their personal experience force change in the system. Now that mainstream press and medicine has noticed this surge in consumer demand, they are reluctantly trying to show up at the party. Acupuncture is part of the truth, and doesn't need to rely on hokey commercials aired during football games or prime-time soaps to sell it.
This subject threatens to become very intense and arcane. I can't say I fully understand the autopoetic definition of living systems. I really don't understand the role of cognition in it. That being said, I'll just throw some thoughts out there.
It's hard to come up with a notion of a living system that is any smaller in scope than the whole earth, or maybe the whole universe. Living systems are supposed to be self-sustaining. But, nothing is really self sustaining. All creatures need to feed themselves, and so rely on being able to find food. When one species dies out, it threatens the rest of the food chain. So, are any of those systems self-sustaining? Also, we all need certain environmental conditions to survive. Global warming could threaten and/or destroy most of life on earth. So, does that make any of the species self sustaining? I don't think so. The concept of Gaia comes up for me, and the idea that the earth is an organic, living system. Perhaps it is self-sustaining, doing what it needs to do to we humans in order to ensure its survival.
Tools and Language in Chimps
I find this fascinating and exciting, but not all that surprising. We have learned over the years of complex social structures among lots of other species, and not just primates. Whales have complex communication systems, as do dolphin. And, it's not just mammals. Crows have complex communication systems. We are so species-centric that we are forever surprised by these revelations. In my opinion, humans are the ones who need to work on their language and communication. If we're so smart, why are the polar ice caps melting? Let's talk about that!!!
The other cool thing about chimps is that while the one is burrowing the hole, the others sit and watch and wait their turn! That only happens in Canada. Definitely not in New York. Why do we think we're so much more highly evolved?
Chinese Medicine Gaining Respectability in the West
What I find interesting about the mainstreaming of Chinese medicine is the way it's happening. It is a grass roots movement, driven by consumer demand because people witness its effectiveness. I love the fact that it is growing at break neck pace. I looked for statistics about the increase in demand, and couldn't find anything recent. But in 2002, 2.1 million people visited an acupuncturist, and by 2003 over 8 million people did. That's an unbelievable jump. I love it when people vote with their feet, and on the strength of their personal experience force change in the system. Now that mainstream press and medicine has noticed this surge in consumer demand, they are reluctantly trying to show up at the party. Acupuncture is part of the truth, and doesn't need to rely on hokey commercials aired during football games or prime-time soaps to sell it.
Saturday, February 9, 2008
Week Five
Diversification saving Species
Why haven't we learned from the banana or even the potato? I am mystified. Diversification is natural and necessary to ensure survival of various species. But, it's not particularly convenient for shorter term goals, like making money with the least amount of work. So, we find ourselves facing the end of the banana as we know it. Given that it is one of the few non-processed foods on the approved list around my household, I am sad.
I think that part of the reason this is happening is the lack of oversight by an entity other than industry. We would need policy makers to get involved and highlight longer term issues. Self regulation clearly is not working. But, the Department of Agriculture seems like its sole function is to protect antiquated subsidies that are hurting consumers. And, it would take a multinational body to actually deal with theses issues. We need an Al Gore figure to take this one on.
Chicken or the Egg
This seems like another example where science shows us that there's really no precise answer. An egg mutated, and a chicken was born to non-chicken parents. So, I suppose it's the egg. But wasn't it a chicken in the egg for as long as the egg existed? Let's just call it a tie and put this question to rest once and for all...
Eating Broccoli
Yes, I always eat my broccoli. For one thing, broccoli is one of the few vegetables that I can always find organic. In Marin, organic veggies are not as easy to find as you may think. Also, I've been aware for some time about the protective effect of DIM against cancer. But, realisitically, you'd have to eat truckloads of broccoli to get the effect that they've seen in studies where they are working with highly concentrated levels of DIM and IC3. I like broccoli and my kids do too, so we eat a lot of it for that reason!
Why haven't we learned from the banana or even the potato? I am mystified. Diversification is natural and necessary to ensure survival of various species. But, it's not particularly convenient for shorter term goals, like making money with the least amount of work. So, we find ourselves facing the end of the banana as we know it. Given that it is one of the few non-processed foods on the approved list around my household, I am sad.
I think that part of the reason this is happening is the lack of oversight by an entity other than industry. We would need policy makers to get involved and highlight longer term issues. Self regulation clearly is not working. But, the Department of Agriculture seems like its sole function is to protect antiquated subsidies that are hurting consumers. And, it would take a multinational body to actually deal with theses issues. We need an Al Gore figure to take this one on.
Chicken or the Egg
This seems like another example where science shows us that there's really no precise answer. An egg mutated, and a chicken was born to non-chicken parents. So, I suppose it's the egg. But wasn't it a chicken in the egg for as long as the egg existed? Let's just call it a tie and put this question to rest once and for all...
Eating Broccoli
Yes, I always eat my broccoli. For one thing, broccoli is one of the few vegetables that I can always find organic. In Marin, organic veggies are not as easy to find as you may think. Also, I've been aware for some time about the protective effect of DIM against cancer. But, realisitically, you'd have to eat truckloads of broccoli to get the effect that they've seen in studies where they are working with highly concentrated levels of DIM and IC3. I like broccoli and my kids do too, so we eat a lot of it for that reason!
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Week Four
A Drug For Everything?
It seems like that is the way that we are headed. Clearly, there's an alarming trend toward medicalizing everything, even personality, and then making nearly every aspect of the human condition "treatable". Looked at from this standpoint, this is appalling. I believe strongly that people need to look deep within themselves and deal with what they find. Taking pills to cure a gambling problem keeps people from doing that. And, of course, it won't work. I hate the ads for drugs. They are creating conditions and then creating cures. It's madness.
But, I do feel that there are situations where the pharmaceutical industry has made important strides in saving human lives. It's not a very popular viewpoint, especially in the non-western health world, but I thank God for things like the polio vaccine having heard about my parents' lives as kids, and seeing pictures of gymanasiums filled with kids in iron lungs. It's easy to say, well we need to be comfortable with letting go. But, I feel very deeply the fundamental human impulse to heal and preserve lives. (I am pro-choice). Each person is truly precious, and if the pharmaceutical industry can come up with cures for things like polio, leukemia, other cancers, I'm all for it.
Raising Levels of Dopamine in Ourselves
Apparently, we can increase levels of dopamine in our brains if we think we are being injected with its precursors. I'm not surprised. It's been shown time and again that treatments are both positively and negatively affected by what we believe. What would be interesting would be if we could teach people to raise levels of dopamine without injecting them with anything. That would truly be self healing, and would result in an incredible sense of empowerment.
I think that so much of disease and poor health arises from a sense of powerlessness: a belief that our bodies are separate from us, like our cars or something. Therefore, there is a sense that they need to be cared for by doctors, the equivalent of the car mechanic. People don't think they can fix themselves; it's too complicated. So, they take the back seat. It's a vicious downward spiral into sickness.
How Did Chimps and Humans Diverge?
I think the most likely theory is the one that we read this week, specifically that the chimps and humans diverged more gradually rather than in one single event. Toumai, discovered in Chad, seems to represent a hybrid human-chimp creature that existed after the date that we believed that pre-human and chimp speciation occurred. Apparently, there was interbreeding creating creatures like Toumai, and modern humans emerged from one of those hybrid species.
So, pre-humans bred with chimps! No wonder evolution scares the ultra right so deeply. But, that's a subject for psychology...
It seems like that is the way that we are headed. Clearly, there's an alarming trend toward medicalizing everything, even personality, and then making nearly every aspect of the human condition "treatable". Looked at from this standpoint, this is appalling. I believe strongly that people need to look deep within themselves and deal with what they find. Taking pills to cure a gambling problem keeps people from doing that. And, of course, it won't work. I hate the ads for drugs. They are creating conditions and then creating cures. It's madness.
But, I do feel that there are situations where the pharmaceutical industry has made important strides in saving human lives. It's not a very popular viewpoint, especially in the non-western health world, but I thank God for things like the polio vaccine having heard about my parents' lives as kids, and seeing pictures of gymanasiums filled with kids in iron lungs. It's easy to say, well we need to be comfortable with letting go. But, I feel very deeply the fundamental human impulse to heal and preserve lives. (I am pro-choice). Each person is truly precious, and if the pharmaceutical industry can come up with cures for things like polio, leukemia, other cancers, I'm all for it.
Raising Levels of Dopamine in Ourselves
Apparently, we can increase levels of dopamine in our brains if we think we are being injected with its precursors. I'm not surprised. It's been shown time and again that treatments are both positively and negatively affected by what we believe. What would be interesting would be if we could teach people to raise levels of dopamine without injecting them with anything. That would truly be self healing, and would result in an incredible sense of empowerment.
I think that so much of disease and poor health arises from a sense of powerlessness: a belief that our bodies are separate from us, like our cars or something. Therefore, there is a sense that they need to be cared for by doctors, the equivalent of the car mechanic. People don't think they can fix themselves; it's too complicated. So, they take the back seat. It's a vicious downward spiral into sickness.
How Did Chimps and Humans Diverge?
I think the most likely theory is the one that we read this week, specifically that the chimps and humans diverged more gradually rather than in one single event. Toumai, discovered in Chad, seems to represent a hybrid human-chimp creature that existed after the date that we believed that pre-human and chimp speciation occurred. Apparently, there was interbreeding creating creatures like Toumai, and modern humans emerged from one of those hybrid species.
So, pre-humans bred with chimps! No wonder evolution scares the ultra right so deeply. But, that's a subject for psychology...
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