Clipmarks | Plague Clips

Roman Empire raised HIV threat

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:33:37 GMT

clipped by: valann 47

The spread of the Roman Empire through Europe could help explain why those living in its former colonies are more vulnerable to HIV.

The claim, by French researchers, is that people once ruled by Rome are less likely to have a gene variant which protects against HIV.

This includes England, France, Greece and Spain, New Scientist reports.

Others argue the difference is linked to a far larger event, such as the spread of bubonic plague or smallpox.

The Romans spread their genes far and wide

In countries inside the borders of the empire for longer periods, such as Spain, Italy and Greece, the frequency of the CCR5-delta32 gene, which offers some protection against HIV, is between 0% and 6%.

Countries at the fringe of the empire, such as Germany, and modern England, the rate is between 8% and 11.8%, while in countries never conquered by Rome, the rate is greater than this.

We're waiting for the big piece of evidence which will solve this

Dr Susan Scott
Liverpool University

Tags: hiv, roman empire

Education Not Oil As Empire

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 14:56:19 GMT

clipped by: debbyski
clipper's remarks: For all the hard work of our good teachers, our system is failing to keep pace with the demands of a new century.
Entrepreneurial charter schools such as KIPP, Uncommon Schools, Aspire, the Inner-City Education Foundation, the Alliance for College-Ready Public Schools and Green Dot demonstrate what a single-minded focus on excellence can achieve with low-income students"

Try investing in we the people. It's an investment that will pay off.

Clip Source: www.latimes.com

In the summer of 1918, as tuberculosis, bubonic plague and a flu pandemic threatened America's newly crowded cities, the chemist Charles Holmes Herty took a walk through New York City with his colleague J.R. Bailey. Herty posed a question: Suppose Bailey discovered an exceptionally powerful medicine. What institution would allow him to take his breakthrough from lab experiment to widespread cure?

Bailey replied, "I don't know."

That alarming answer moved Herty to propose a visionary solution -- an institution that would encourage research and development throughout the country. It would find its value, Herty said, "in the stimulus which it gives" to research, thought and discovery by practitioners in the field.

Today, the shame of our cities isn't bubonic plague; it's ignorance. In our urban areas, only one child in five is proficient in reading. On international tests, we rank behind the Czech Republic and Latvia; our high school graduation rate barely makes the top 20 worldwide.

Agent Smith's Words

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 00:20:56 GMT

clipped by: Zephrix

Clip Source: pkrishnan.wordpress.com

“I’d like to share a revelation that I’ve had, during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you aren’t actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with its surrounding environment, but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply, and multiply until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You are a plague, and we, are the cure.”

5 Diseases that are Thriving Thanks to Global Warming

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 07:41:45 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: God bless us all...

Clip Source: matador.org

5 Diseases that are Thriving Thanks to Global Warming

Do you think tropical diseases only occur in developing countries? Think again.

The World Health Organization (WHO) says diseases are spreading to temperate regions thanks to global warming.

Malaria

spread by the Anopheles mosquito infected with the Plasmodium parasite

The U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projects that warmer temperatures will put 65% of the world’s population at risk of infection—an increase of 20%.

Dengue Fever

spread by the Aedes mosquito infected with the Flavivirus virus

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Agriculture predict dengue’s encroachment upon temperate regions due to small increases in temperature.

Encephalitis

arthropod-borne disease present in many forms,

Bubonic Plague

spread by rodents and their fleas infected with the bacterium Yersinia pestis

reports a 60% rise in plague

Cholera

Cholera is a waterborne disease present in drinking water and food

What you can do

Tags: tropical diseases, global warming, who, malaria, dengue fever, encephalitis, plague, cholera, epa, us

545 People

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 23:10:30 GMT

clipped by: mklosinski
clipper's remarks: Leave no incumbent in office.

Clip Source: www.dailypaul.com

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president and nine Supreme Court justices - 545 human beings out of the 300 million - are directly, legally, morally and individually responsible for the
domestic problems that plague this country.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not
replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts - of
incompetence and irresponsibility.

I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable
directly to those 545 people.

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

Tags: congress

DBQ 2

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 22:44:53 GMT

clipped by: Chem2009

Clip Source: www.themiddleages.net

The Flagellant Brahren, as they are known, believe that the plague is a punishment for human sin, and that by scourging themselves they can show mankind's repentance. They travel in parties of anything from 50 to 500 men, and are high ly organized. Led by a layman - the master - they move from town to town to perform their rituals. Singing hymns and sobbing, the men beat themselves with scourges studded with iron spikes. Blood gushes from their many wounds, and the spikes embed themselves in the torn flesh. The ritual is perform ed in public twice each day.

Tags: black death

A man made "plague" to treat a plague

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:50:54 GMT

clipped by: balthazarus
clipper's remarks: It's a new concept, that looks very promising.
pre treating the disease, by infecting the carriers, mosquitos, with a virus which is harmless for humans.
Very interesting!

Clip Source: microbiologybytes.wordpress.com

Malaria Researchers Identify New Mosquito Virus

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have characterized a virus that is infectious to Anopheles gambiae - the mosquito primarily responsible for transmitting malaria.

this virus could potentially be used to pass on new genetic information to A. gambiae mosquitoes to help control malaria, which kills over one million people worldwide each year.

Paratransgenesis, the genetic manipulation of mosquito symbiotic microorganisms, is being considered as a potential strategy to control malaria.

Microorganisms associated with Anopheles mosquitoes could be manipulated to alter the mosquito’s ability to become infected with and transmit the malaria parasites, or reduce mosquito fecundity or lifespan.

AgDNV is a member of the Parvovirus family, a “densovirus”, which are quite common in mosquitoes and other insects, but do not infect vertebrates such as humans

still many years away from practical use

Tags: biology, medicine, malaria

10 Stupid Laws Around the World

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 00:21:08 GMT

clipped by: Duck-x

Clip Source: blog.hotelclub.com

Being a lawful citizen isn’t always easy - especially when it inconveniences you. Let’s be honest: we’ve all had our fair share of run-ins with laws we didn’t agree with.

This top 10 looks at some of the most preposterous, antiquated laws on the planet. We can, indeed, declare them to be downright stupid.

7. In Scotland the law obliges citizens to allow whoever knocks on their door to use their toilet.

6. In Bahrain, the law prohibits a gynecologist to look directly at a patient’s organs. He must use mirror reflections to do his job.

5. In the state of Alabama people are not allowed to drive while blindfolded.

4. In London people are not allowed to catch a cab if they are infested with the plague.

It’s understandable I guess. London suffered a lot during the time of the “Black Death” so perhaps they just figured if the disease struck again, this time they’d be prepared. Still, it really doesn’t get much dumber than this.

Invasive lionfish threatening Caribbean

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:39:31 GMT

clipped by: A53GG4

Clip Source: blogs.usatoday.com

Invasive lionfish threatening Caribbean

A maroon-striped creature with venomous spikes is rapidly multiplying in the Caribbean's warm waters, swallowing native species, stinging divers and generally wreaking havoc on an environmentally delicate region. The red lionfish, a tropical native of the Indian and Pacific oceans that probably escaped from a Florida fish tank, is showing up everywhere -- from the coasts of Cuba and Hispaniola to Little Cayman's pristine Bloody Bay Wall, one of the region's prime destinations for divers. Wherever it appears, the adaptable predator corners fish and crustaceans up to half its size with its billowy fins and sucks them down in one violent gulp.

"This may very well become the most devastating marine invasion in history," says Mark Hixon, an Oregon State University marine ecology expert who compared the lionfish to a plague of locusts.

By Michelle Healy

Tags: fish

Deplorable Conditions in Adult Homes for Mentally Ill

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 19:54:17 GMT

clipped by: dmegivern

Clip Source: www.recordonline.com

Deplorable conditions plague worst-run adult homes

Karen Preston was a 54-year-old schizophrenic who froze to death last winter after wandering away, unnoticed, from the Roscoe Manor Adult Home.Times Herald-Record/MICHELE HASKELL

Karen Preston was 54 years old and suffered from severe schizophrenia. She had lived in Roscoe Manor because she needed help with daily activities and self-care that an adult home is supposed to provide.

Inspections at 22 licensed adult homes in Ulster, Sullivan and Orange counties from 2001-07 turned up 846 violations deemed to directly affect the safety or well-being of residents - with two-thirds of those citations recorded at the seven adult homes operated in Sullivan County.

State documents paint a disturbing picture of homes where residents are left to sit in soiled clothing, are subjected to physically or verbally abusive staffers and repeated instances of mismanaged medications.

Tags: mental illness, services, care

Marcus Aurelius' thoughts on life

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 10:31:47 GMT

clipped by: Yafi07
clipper's remarks: And they are still applicable today. There are some interest contemporary reflections on the philosophy of Marcus Aurelius here.

Clip Source: www.pickthebrain.com

Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was Roman emperor from 161 until his death in 180. A great thinker, Marcus embodied Plato’s ideal of the philosopher king to a considerable extent. He was a strong emperor, engaging in various wars in defense of the Roman empire for his entire reign, but he was also greatly concerned with social justice and welfare, even going so far as to sell his own possessions to alleviate people’s suffering from famine and plague (from which he died).

“Such as are your habitual thoughts; such also will be the character of your mind; for the soul is dyed by the color of your thoughts.”

Marcus left behind a corpus of writing which, despite it’s antiquity, offers us some truly timeless wisdom. Here are six lessons we can learn from his observations on life.

“Time is a sort of river of passing events, and strong is its current; no sooner is a thing brought to sight than it is swept by and another takes its place, and this too will be swept away.”

Tags: marcus aurelius, law of attraction

Predator Invades the Caribbean

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 19:58:33 GMT

clipped by: Imnclady

Clip Source: myembarq.com

Venomous lionfish prowls fragile Caribbean waters

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A maroon-striped marauder with venomous spikes is rapidly multiplying in the Caribbean's warm waters, swallowing native species, stinging divers and generally wreaking havoc on an ecologically delicate region.

Wherever it appears, the adaptable predator corners fish and crustaceans up to half its size with its billowy fins and sucks them down in one violent gulp.

Research teams observed one lionfish eating 20 small fish in less than 30 minutes.

"This may very well become the most devastating marine invasion in history," said Mark Hixon, an Oregon State University marine ecology expert who compared lionfish to a plague of locusts. "There is probably no way to stop the invasion completely."

"Those kinds of things happen repeatedly in fresh water," Hixon said. "But we've not seen such a large predatory invasion in the ocean before."

we could be in a whirlwind for bad things coming to the reef ecosystem."

Tags: ecology, science, ocean, fish

The Dance of Death

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:24:42 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: bibliodyssey.blogspot.com

The Dance of Death or 'Le Danse Macabre' or 'Totentanz' or 'la Danza de la Muerte' was an artistic response across Europe to the devastation brought about by the plague or black death.

the idea of death visiting households without regard for social or economic status arose as a cultural phenomenon by way of dramatic plays

The earliest recorded artistic examples were frescoes in the Church of the Holy Innocents in Paris in 1424 (now gone). There are recordings of other church frescoes and paintings touching on the danse macabre theme in the the 15th century

Clip Source: www.lamortdanslart.com

France

c. 1424Cemetery of the Innocents, Paris.

Clip Source: www.lamortdanslart.com

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Clip Source: www.lamortdanslart.com

Germany

1463St. Mary's Church, Lübeck.

Clip Source: www.lamortdanslart.com

St. Mary's Church, Beram.

Clip Source: www.lamortdanslart.com

St. Nicolas of Reval Church, Tallinn.

Clip Source: www.lamortdanslart.com

Clip Source: bibliodyssey.blogspot.com

the incunabulum, 'Heidelberger Totentanz', was the first book in which the dance of death was portrayed

Clip Source: photos1.blogger.com

Clip Source: www.lamortdanslart.com

1791 The dance of Death by Daniel Nikolaus Chodowiecki, Germany.

Clip Source: www.lamortdanslart.com

the pope

Clip Source: www.lamortdanslart.com

a beggar,

Clip Source: www.lamortdanslart.com

a baby

Clip Source: www.lamortdanslart.com

Clip Source: bibliodyssey.blogspot.com

engravings by Thomas Rowlandson (1756-1827)

American Calcutta - The Living Dead of San Francisco

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 14:39:34 GMT

clipped by: pkronfield
clipper's remarks: You don't have to look far to see the results and effects of liberal government. Take New Orleans. Ponder the hoards of disgusting homeless in California, and particularly San Francisco. We need a new CCC to put these people into camps, teach them trades, and put them to work on our crumbling infrastructure. Homelessness isn't a phenomenon of poor economic times, it's a direct result of democrats' addicting people to handouts which removes hope and self motivation.

Clip Source: www.nypost.com

My new symbol of San Francisco is a man with ulcerous calves exposed, head and torso thrust into a cardboard box in front of a Prada boutique.

What I saw as I sidestepped bodies wasn't just the failure of social policies, but a collective flight from responsibility. Shrugging our shoulders and declaiming The homeless deserve the right to make their own choices! just lets us all off the hook.

San Francisco's a city of ethically oblivious hypocrites: 6,377 homeless, 776,733 heartless.

foreign tourists dodged the meandering, muttering homeless. I was ashamed of the image those visitors would take home.

I wished those tourists had chosen Manhattan instead. Or even, God help us, Washington, DC. The only thing San Francisco ever gave this country was bubonic plague.

When we write off a man or woman who is clearly disturbed, incapable of basic sanitary practices and living at a level below that we accord our pets, we shouldn't pat ourselves on the back for giving him or her a handout now and then

Tags: homelessness, loony left

Were Ancient Viruses a Key to Human Evolution?

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 18:19:23 GMT

clipped by: Mohir
clipper's remarks: These viral fragments are fossils that reside within each of us, carrying a record that goes back millions of years. Because they no longer seem to serve a purpose or cause harm, these remnants have often been referred to as “junk DNA.” Although many of these evolutionary relics still manage to generate proteins, scientists have never found one that functions properly in humans or that could make us sick.
That is until Thierry Heidmann who runs the laboratory at the Institut Gustave Roussy, on the southern edge of Paris, brought one to life. Heidmann long suspected that if a retrovirus happens to infect a human sperm cell or egg, which is rare, and if that embryo survives—which is rarer still—the retrovirus could have the evolutionary power to influence humans as a species becoming part of the genetic blueprint, passed from mother to child, and from one generation to the next, much like a gene for eye color or asthma.

Clip Source: www.dailygalaxy.com

When the mapping of the human genome was completed in 2003, researchers discovered a shocking fact: our bodies are littered with the shards of retroviruses, fragments of the chemical code from which all genetic material is made. This discovery has created a new discipline, paleovirology, which seeks to better understand the impact of modern diseases by studying the genetic history of ancient viruses.

Highly infectious viral diseases -including the Plague, yellow fever, measles, smallpox and he Spanish Flu, which killed 50 million people at the end of the First World War, moving from one cell to the next, transforming each new host into a factory that makes even more virus. In this way, one infected cell soon becomes billion -that die when the host dies.

Endogenous retroviruses, however, once they infect the DNA of a species they become part of that species: they reside within each of us, carrying a record that goes back millions of years.

Tags: evolution, virus, dna