tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235030946841714344.post7224144258349363866..comments2022-12-29T04:14:40.493-06:00Comments on Jimi Ripley: Should smallpox virus stocks be destroyed?Jimi Ripleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15208686905656275043noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235030946841714344.post-24279985667799692932011-05-25T10:36:59.872-05:002011-05-25T10:36:59.872-05:00Zimmer is next up, after I finish an indie book.
...Zimmer is next up, after I finish an indie book.<br /><br />Preston does likewise--making complex topics not only approachable but also fascinating, and often horrifying. He has more of a journalistic approach. The Demon in the Freezer is my favorite of his books.Jimi Ripleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15208686905656275043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235030946841714344.post-86849859796692462412011-05-23T22:19:13.447-05:002011-05-23T22:19:13.447-05:00You won't be sorry! Zimmer is a fantastic scie...You won't be sorry! Zimmer is a fantastic science writer. He makes complex topics very approachable. His Microcosm is one of the best hard science books I read last year. I haven't read that one yet, but it's on my list.Coral Moorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10607667362203279487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235030946841714344.post-53705925277704694652011-05-23T11:19:25.419-05:002011-05-23T11:19:25.419-05:00Thank you for the link, Coral! I enjoyed reading t...Thank you for the link, Coral! I enjoyed reading two knowledgeable viewpoints. It's a sad commentary that smallpox continues to be a threat, despite its status as one of only two viruses eliminated from the wild (a monumental achievement). Incidentally, I didn't know about rinderpest until I read Zimmer's comments. <br /><br />I'm adding "A Planet of Viruses" to my TBR list and will likely post about it here in future.Jimi Ripleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15208686905656275043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235030946841714344.post-26040194341680782192011-05-22T19:15:09.653-05:002011-05-22T19:15:09.653-05:00Catching up with my feed backlog and I saw this an...Catching up with my feed backlog and I saw this and it reminded me of your blog post so I thought I'd share it. A letter conversation between a scientist and a sci-fi author. I thought they both had good points. http://pressblog.uchicago.edu/2011/05/12/traffic_carl_zimmer_and_richar.htmlCoral Moorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10607667362203279487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235030946841714344.post-16499331730684016142011-05-19T21:12:05.972-05:002011-05-19T21:12:05.972-05:00Coral: I agree that accidental release is unlikely...Coral: I agree that accidental release is unlikely, at least into the wider population, and if it did happen there are measures in place to contain it. Malicious release might be more likely.<br /><br />Robert: Thank you for the book reference! I will look it up on my Kindle.<br /><br />Good point about laboratories having the need, and being able, to reconstruct infectious pathogens. Having studied the 1918 influenza pandemic, the thought of scientists rebuilding the virus is amazing and somewhat scary.Jimi Ripleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15208686905656275043noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235030946841714344.post-74640594149746765782011-05-19T19:41:58.640-05:002011-05-19T19:41:58.640-05:00According to David Clark in his book. “Germs, Gene...According to David Clark in his book. “Germs, Genes, & Civilization: How Epidemics Shaped Who We Are Today” many human diseases originated in animals. He goes on to say, “Despite the new DNA evidence that exonerates the cow from spreading tuberculosis, most of our present infections probably did originate from other animals. It seems likely that prehistoric hunter-gatherers were relatively free of infectious diseases, compared with historical and present-day man. The unusual susceptibility of American Indians to most diseases brought across the Atlantic from the Old World argues that the indigenous people of the American continent had never been exposed to these diseases. This implies that these diseases emerged after the ancestral American Indians split off from their Asian relatives approximately 15,000 years ago. Because the migrating tribes evidently did not import them into America, it seems that smallpox, measles, and so forth must have been human diseases for less than 15,000 years—perhaps less, even, than that. “<br />It’s interesting to learn that smallpox like numerous other diseases most likely originated from animals that were domesticated fairly recently in human history. I know of a laboratory at the University of Texas that helped to reassemble the 1918 influenza virus for study. If laboratories are working hard to reconstruct infectious pathogens for study then why destroy the only stockpile of smallpox with the potential need to reconstruct it later? I say keep it intact and under rigorous security.<br /> <br />Reference: Clark, David P. (2010). Germs, Genes, & Civilization: How Epidemics Shaped Who We Are Today (pp. 17-18). FT Press. Kindle Edition.Roberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15210494504977249665noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4235030946841714344.post-62338887741002857562011-05-19T15:48:21.032-05:002011-05-19T15:48:21.032-05:00This is a tough call, and I'd hate to be the o...This is a tough call, and I'd hate to be the one to make it. Both sides have very valid points. In my mind though, it's better to have some on hand to base research on, just in case. Nobody knows for sure that the recorded stocks are the only ones in existence. As you said, they are the only legitimate stores, which is not the same thing. <br /><br />I think accidental release is fairly low on the danger spectrum, there are a lot of things I fear more.Coral Moorehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10607667362203279487noreply@blogger.com