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It's almost Boogie Time!
Something is not right in the Northeastern Pacific. Global monitoring satellites are picking up a huge bump in carbon monoxide levels over the Pacific Gyre. An emergency call from a freighter sets in motion a high seas rescue operation. What is going on out there? Some Background
Carbon Monoxide is a molecule that exists commonly in nature. It is odorless and colorless. It has the unfortunate chemistry, unfortunate for humans, of binding to hemoglobin a hundred times more easily than does oxygen. Hemoglobin is the big protein molecule in your red blood cells responsible for carrying oxygen to the cells of your body. On Earth, the atmosphere is about 21% oxygen and at sea level, most of us have no problem loading up our blood with oxygen when we breathe. The problem with carbon monoxide and its affinity for your hemoglobin is that in an atmosphere of 21% oxygen and 1% carbon monoxide it will totally replace the oxygen and you will suffocate. |
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The mural on the wall of the old healthfood store in Fairfax, California. It's been restored but Hank was furious that someone had scrawled "Better dead than fed" over the image of Vedana Shiva.
More information on GMO's and some of the science behind the story.
1. This article by Michael Specter, entitled "The Gene Hackers" is highly recommended reading for a better understanding of current technology in DNA manipulation. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/11/16/the-gene-hackers
2. Another, and perhaps more challenging article on GMO's entitled "Seeds of Doubt", again by Michael Specter, is both informative and accessible. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/08/25/seeds-of-doubt
3. On the "Ponce de Leon Clinic"- the science is based on actual research that has been done and continues to be done. Here are two articles on the subject. The first, in the journal "Nature" is more scholarly but accessible. The second, from the science section of the New York Times, is shorter but succinct.
a) http://www.nature.com/news/ageing-research-blood-to-blood-1.16762
b) http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/05/science/young-blood-may-hold-key-to-reversing-aging.html
a) http://www.nature.com/news/ageing-research-blood-to-blood-1.16762
b) http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/05/science/young-blood-may-hold-key-to-reversing-aging.html