There was a recent study conducted to find out if those exposed to the 1918 pandemic flu still possessed antibodies, even at extreme old age.
Scientists tested the blood of 32 people aged 92 to 102 who were exposed to the 1918 pandemic flu and found antibodies that still roam the body looking to strangle the old flu strain. Researchers manipulated those antibodies into a vaccine and found that it kept alive all the mice they had injected with the killer flu, according to a study published online Sunday in the journal Nature.
Although it seems logical that there would still be antibodies produced by these individuals, what intrigued me was the response of one of the authors of the study:
"It's incredible. The Lord has blessed us with antibodies our whole lifetime," said study co-author Dr. Eric Altschuler at the University of Medicine and Dentistry in New Jersey. "What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger."
The Lord. Interesting.
Interesting how those who survived the pandemic that killed between 50 and 100 million people worldwide are some how blessed by the Lord. I guess the poor saps who didn't live up to evolutionary standards of the day were some how cursed by the Lord?
I always find this sort of logic vexing. It is like the athletes who win a game and thank God because he some how granted them the power for victory. It is as if God didn't want the other team to have any happiness. Maybe he should have just given them a cold instead to prove their unworthiness...
So if God is everything... Then he gave us the Spanish flu of 1918. Killed millions. And those he spared -- well -- they were blessed. And his presence, in the form of IgG, still blesses today.
What nonsense.
So it looks like there was an issue with the little girl who sang at the opening ceremony in Beijing. The one who was on stage didn't have buck teeth. The one with the buck teeth had the superior voice.
"The main consideration was the national interest," he said. "The child on the screen should be flawless in image, in her internal feelings, and in her expression. In the matter of her voice, Yang Peiyi was flawless, in the unanimous opinion of all the members of the team."
That was until attention turned to Yang Peiyi's teeth. Nevertheless, Mr Chen thought the end result a perfect compromise.
"We have a responsibility to face the audience of the whole country, and to be open with this explanation," he said. "We should all understand it like this: it is a question of the national interest. It is a question of the image of our national music, our national culture.
"Especially at the entrance of our national flag, this is an extremely important, an extremely serious matter.
"So we made the choice. I think it is fair to both Lin Miaoke and Yang Peiyi - after all, we have a perfect voice, a perfect image and a perfect show, in our team's view, all together."
National image. National culture. National interest. National flag...
The greater good...
There is much to be said about the individual and a Communist nation. The individual loses.
Seriously, who doesn't like Triumph the Insult Comic Dog?
If McCain doesn't go bold with Palin, he should just go home now.
PZ Myers has some good words to live by...
Nothing must be held sacred. Question everything. God is not great, Jesus is not your lord, you are not disciples of any charismatic prophet. You are all human beings who must make your way through your life by thinking and learning, and you have the job of advancing humanity's knowledge by winnowing out the errors of past generations and finding deeper understanding of reality. You will not find wisdom in rituals and sacraments and dogma, which build only self-satisfied ignorance, but you can find truth by looking at your world with fresh eyes and a questioning mind.
With speculation that McCain is going to make his pick this week... my vote still goes to Sarah Palin -- "could be a home run."
All of the others seem like the same old song and dance.
