Physics is Phun!

Alright, so this isn't exactly medical news, nor is it a subject matter that I can say that I am well versed in (note: I am not currently, nor have ever been a theoretical physicist) but I have always had a soft spot for the origins of all that is that we know.  In fact, I was an astronomy major for my first 3 semesters of college until I realized that the subject matter was to far removed from everyday life.  None the less, whenever I see big astronomy or physics news, I get a little excited. 

Having made all those disclaimers, I'd like to mention something that happened in high energy physics that has many scientists excited.  Last week, the Fermi labs were able to show that collisions of matter and anti matter at very high energy would produce more muons than anti-muons.  What are muons and anti-muons?  To be honest, I'm not terribly sure other than they are components of the primary atomic particles like protons.  How does this benefit Joe public?  Well, at the moment probably not at all, but it does provide experimental evidence towards one of the biggest conundrums in astronomy and physics.  When the universe was formed in the giant ball of fire commonly referred to as the Big Bang, tons of matter and anti-matter was produced.  Now conventional wisdom, and all experiments before this advance, suggested that matter and anti-matter were always produced in equal amounts, and thus, should cancel one another out.  Under that model, there would be no matter (or anti-matter) in the universe, however, the fact that I'm typing this post that hopefully some one is reading it suggests that there is a flaw in the model.  Step in Fermi lab....products of a matter/anti-matter collision resulted in a slight imbalance toward regular muons and not anti-muons (about a 1% difference).  I realize that 1% may not seem like a lot, but when you consider the enormity of energy at the time of the big bang, well, it may have been enough to result in all the matter we see in the universe.  I find that option to be much more exciting than the theory where giant pockets of antimatter are floating around and we have just been lucky enough to avoid them...I mean, who likes to play dodge ball when the result of getting hit is total annihilation. 

So where does this leave us?  Well first, the result will need to be repeated, likely at the new collider in Switzerland, where higher levels of energy can be obtained.

Should future cartoons depicting God replace the bearded old man with a portrait of Craig Venter?

Probably not yet, though there definitely seems to be a lot of people who think he's messing with things he shouldn't be and there was a blogasm over the weekend regarding his most recent publication in science.

So, lets take a step back for those that are unaware what the big deal is.  Dr. Craig Venter was the pioneer of sequencing the Human genome and, since that task is complete, has moved on to the creation of artificial life.  Last week, Dr. Venter published his most recent advances toward this goal, which was to replace the genome of a bacterium with one that his company made artificially in the lab.  In effect, he "rebooted" a bacteria with a new operating system from another organism, opening the door to potentially design organisms for specific purposes.

Now, I'm sure most people can see the ethical dilemna of this advance.  It raises many of the same questions that have been around for decades regarding the use of standard molecular biology techniques...namely, should we (we being humans) be manipulating the basic building blocks of life (aka DNA)...or as many oponents of molecular biology call it...playing god.  I don't want to rehash this debate as its going on all over the internet at the moment and it would not be hard to find such a conversation if you are interested.  I would rather discuss the scientific implications of this advance under the pretense that there is no ethical debate (and for full disclosure, I do not have many hang ups over the ethical nature of this advance).

That being said, what does this advance do for every day Joe public.  At the moment, not really anything...just as the discovery of the LASER didn't see real world applications for years after its invention.  What it does do, is show proof of principle that genomic information can be engineered in the lab and introduced into bacteria.  This is a fairly large step forward from where the technology currently stands, where we can introduce peices of DNA into bacteria, but all of which are dependent on the bacterial DNA as well.  To me this is the major point, Dr. Venter has found a way to replace the entire bacterial genome with that of one made in the lab. 

So how long will it be before we see bacteria engineered for a specific purpose (such as turning carbon dioxide into some form of usuable fuel, for example)?  not clear, but I'm guessing we are several years  away(atleast a decade) at best.  How far are we from taking this one step further and replacing a human cell's DNA with DNA made in a lab....a really really really long way away.  While it may be possible at some point in the future, the size of the human genome is thousands-fold larger than that the average bacteria (its like going from the diameter of shooting marble to the length of a football field).  That doesn't mean that people won't start trying, but that is another can of worms for another time.

Gluten and Casien free diets do not affect autism behavior

There is a very interesting article today on Dr. Gupta's blog about the link between autism and diets rich in Gluten and Casien.  As some of my friends know, my family has a bit of history with Celiac's disease and my mom has been living on a gluten and casien free diet for some time.  While difficult, it is doable and both her and my dad are probably more healthy for it.  Sadly, the gluten/casien free diet seems to have no effect on autism as reported by a recent study.  For a more thorough discussion, check out Dr. Gupta's blog.

Bret Michaels admits to herpes...type one that is

Now I'm a big fan of the apprentice and while that absolutely has nothing to do with the focus of this blog, I think Bret Michaels just talked about the cold sores on his lips on national tv.  Did anyone else catch that cause I'm not sure my DVR is recording this week. 

If enough people believe it, does it make it true?

Evolution, yet another third rail in American Politics, has been getting a lot of coverage lately in the press.  Sadly, its not the coverage I would like to see...like the recent discovery that neanderthals and homosapiens may have intermingled (in the biblical sense).  Instead, the media (including me, not that I have elevated myself to the level of "the media") is covering the incredible backlash against evolution by conservative groups. The climate in politics has gotten so bad that republicans are attacking other republicans for even suggesting they believe that evolution may be real and that the bible should not always be taken literally. A prime example that came out this week...the primary races in Alabama.  Take a look at this attack ad...

This is of course coming on the heels of several states completely removing evolution or elevating intelligent design to equal status in science text books.  It scares me to think that one day in the near future, I could be teaching an intro biology class at a small university and actually have to explain the basic tenants of the theory of evolution.  Hopefully this anti-evolution fad is simply that, a fad, and will burn itself out. 

TV host takes on Small Pox?

I did a double take the other evening. I saw a commercial for an episode of Dr. Oz that was to focus on the next major bio-terrorism threat...smallpox. Just to be sure that I wasn't in some sort of scientific heaven, I checked the TV listings and, low and behold, there it was. Now, being a card carrying virologist, and having studied a BL-4 agent, I was quite curious as to what a daytime TV show doctor was going to do with such a sensitive topic...and thanks to my new best friend, my dvr, I was able to watch the segment.

As predicted, Dr. Oz pulled out all the stops...from misting the audience to simulate the spread of smallpox...to crazy lighting and seat arrangements...and of course, the obligate slide show of victims that died to small pox in the first half of the 20th century. It was a bit over the top, but all and all, I think he kept the fear of a smallpox outbreak in check with the facts. As many might remember, small pox was officially eliminated from the world back in the 1970's except for samples to be kept at two locations, one in the US and the other in Russia. There is concern amongst many scientists and security experts that smallpox may exist in other freezers throughout the world, but for now, all we have is speculation on that front. None the less, even if terrorists or rogue nations were to get hold of the virus (or make it), we have a very good vaccine that can be used up to four days post exposure to the actual virus. And, unlike the H1N1 vaccine, we have over 300 million doses of the virus already set to be distributed if needed.

The one major problem that I had with the show was that Dr. Oz and his experts failed to discuss one of the major problems with the vaccine. I realize that he might not want to detract from people taking the vaccine by scaring them with the potential side effects, but, I for one believe everyone has the right to know all the facts about what is going into their body. So here we go...The smallpox vaccine is a live virus vaccine. Its actually derived from another pox virus that was initially isolated from cows (aka cowpox). It was discovered a long time ago by Edward Jenner that milk maids were always spared during outbreaks of small pox. He realized that the milk maids were getting exposed to cowpox and that this exposure resulted in protection against the human version. This was the first, and to this day one of the most effective, vaccines to be made. Now, like many live virus vaccines, there are problems that can occur, most notably, death. While most people giving the vaccine will develop a small sore at the sight of inoculation, rarely the infection will become systemic, can leave to permanent neurological problems and cause complications during pregnancy. In addition, those vaccinated are infectious, and, if the virus is spread to some one with certain skin disorders, including eczema, severe complications can develop.

So, all that said, if smallpox breaks out in the US will I be standing in line for the vaccine? You betcha. Would I recommend everyone else get the vaccine? I'd say yes for almost everyone, though if you have a compromised immune system or a history of eczema or other skin disorders I would consult a physician first.

Image courtesy of the CDC.

What was that old saying about history...

Once again I'd like to take the time to discuss H1N1 since we are still around the one year anniversary of its dramatic entrance into our lives. I realize that covering the same topic twice in a week's time might go against all tenants of modern media but hey, I guess I'm just old fashioned that way. This time though, I'd like to focus on how we handled the news of this coming plague as is compares to how such things were handled in the past.

Picture this, suburbia 1952 (and yes, I am watching Golden Girls in the background), rows of new homes with pristine green lawns and American cars parked in the driveway stretch as far as the eye can see. Well, most of the houses at least. One stands out amongst the others as its taped off with giant signs warning neighbors to stay away. What reason would anyone quarantine off a house, and the family inside, you ask? Well, 1952 was the worse year in recorded history for the plaque of the time, Poliomyelitis. Of course, you history buffs know that 1952 wasn't the first year Polio virus reared its evil head, in fact, Polio is at least as old as the Pharaohs. So what was different about it in the early to mid 1900s? Mainly, society had changed and we had become more sanitary. While most of us think sanitation is a good thing (my olfactory senses definitely agree), there are some drawbacks, one of them being that very young children were not exposed to the Polio virus like they had been for millenia. Unlike most viruses, it turns out that Polio actually causes far worse problems for older children and adults than for infants and our new found sanitation did just that. What was once a virus that rarely caused any complications had become quite the monster, killing over 3000 people and paralyzing 20,000 others in 1952 alone.

As to be expected, the years of Polio related disease had struck fear into the heart of the nation. Extreme measures were often taken in the event of a new Polio diagnosis. Families were quarantined, schools and public places closed, children separated from parents, entire households worth of possessions incinerated, all to prevent the spread of the virus. We shouldn't blame people for their reactions during that time, there were no treatments nor a vaccine. Many of those paralyzed ended up in Iron lungs, some of whom never had the chance to leave. But even in all that despair there was also a common bond, through which something incredible happened. Instead of feeling helpless at the hands of Polio, a vision of a polio free world was born, a vision that managed to unite Americans in one of the greatest fundraising drives in our history...the March of Dimes. It was simple concept really, the March of Dimes asked everyone in the United States to give a Dime if they could spare, and even in times as tough as the Great Depression, they did. It allowed everyone to participate in defeating a true evil in the world, it provided a single focus. The March of Dimes raised millions of dollars in an incredibly short amount of time. Money that went directly to funding research on Polio virus. It would take years for the research to finally pay off, but in 1954, Dr. Salk would announce he was ready to test the first Polio vaccine. Millions of people volunteered their children to see if the vaccine worked...and work it did. In 1955 the vaccine was licensed and the March of Dimes organized campaigns to get the vaccine to anyone and everyone. And vaccinations they got, by the score. People lined up for hours on end to get their children the vaccine and, by 1961, less than 200 cases of Poliomyelitis were reported in the United States.

Now, lets flash forward to 2009. Polio is gone, in fact, it might actually only live in the lab after extensive vaccination programs around the world. We have a new enemy though, H1N1, a strain of influenza that threatens to turn the world on its head. Much like polio outbreaks of yesteryear, there is a lot of fear across the nation. The slightest hint of an outbreak closes schools in several metropolitan areas. People are afraid to fly and everywhere you go, everywhere you look, on every TV channel, all you see is H1N1. For months you couldn't get away from it, all very reminiscent of our old friend Polio. Unlike Polio though, the unifying drive to fight this disease seemed absent, at least to me. Maybe it was the fact that there are anti-flu drugs, or maybe it was the fact that a vaccine would likely be available before the end of the year, but the nation did not rally to fight H1N1. There was no March of Dimes, or a celebrity clad telethon for H1N1. In fact, there seemed to be a mistrust surrounding it. I might expect people to not get vaccinated out of laziness or forgetfulness, but, never in my life would I expect people to out right protest vaccination, but people did, lots of them. In fact, when it was announced that H1N1 would be included in the 2010 seasonal flu vaccine, blogs were overwhelmed with posts screaming that they would never take a vaccine that included H1N1, even though the seasonal Flu vaccine has been around for decades. The real question is why? why such the difference in reaction to H1N1? is it a lack of trust of Doctors? the government? the empty, unfounded, fabricated claims that vaccines cause autism? leprechauns that lost their gold? To be honest I'm not sure but I think its a little bit of all the above (well, of course the leprechauns). I'd love to know other opinions as to why this was/is as its very foreign to me.

If you are interested in learning more about Polio I'd recommend the wikipedia pages. They are quite thorough and seem to go on forever. There is also a very good episode of "This American Life" dedicated to what American was like during the polio years..highly recommended. Pictures above are courtesy of the CDC.