Biology

Here’s an interesting story, well told, about an industrial process that takes refinery waste from the United States (derived from high-sulfur Mexican crude oil), cycles it through Europe, then dumps the result in West Africa. The company running this racket (or “innovative commodity exchange”, as they call it) is Trafigura. Learn more here: Coker gasoline A small pawn in the game Vast Tank sweetens gasoline BBC Newsnight on Trafigura’s dumping Here’s a quick summary: ...

We know that a pandemic is coming. We don’t know when and how. Something’s coming out of Mexico (though the index case might have been someplace else, too soon to tell). Is this the Big One, the pandemic that we are overdue for? I am gathering information here to make sure I understand it, and how to protect myself and my family. Avian influenza is influenza type A, subtype H5N1. The porcine influenza found in Mexico is type A, subtype H1N1. Influenza type B is much less dangerous, but is unfortunately not what we are dealing with here. The 1918 pandemic was type A, subtype H1N1 – the same that is circulating in Mexico today. Matching subtypes does not mean that there’s matching virulence, but it’s a clear danger sign. ...

No, not 300, that’s a movie. 350. Parts per million CO2 concentration. Pass the word. Oh, right, it’s just a number, not words… PS: This posting does not constitute an admission that CO2 causes global warming. But I happen to agree with everything that anti-carbon campaigners believe in, even if I think that global warming is a hoax. And this is a nifty animation with cool music, so I’m posting it anyway.

Hong Kong has turned out to be the epicenter of a serious outbreak of SARS. There is an incredibly moving article in BBC about the silent killer in the midst of the healtch care workers in Hong Kong. I found the e-mail address of the doctor and sent him a note. It is included below. To: [email protected] Subject: God bless you I read your interview in BBC and it really touched me. Tonite I had been feeling sorry for myself and my country (I'm an American) because we've gotten ourselves into such a mess in the mideast. Your interview reminded me that the real fight is against nature itself. Good luck to you, take care of yourself. May all your colleagues recover. You have my thoughts even in this trying time, when these obscene distractions try to pull my attention from your very human story. Jeff Allen Redwood City, CA, USA If you feel like it, please send him a note too. ...

In Estonia, they have a public program to let people get their genes sequenced. I just can’t get my head wrapped around what this kind of thing will do to society. I’m not against it, I just feel a little like I felt when I saw the first web browser. I knew that things were going to get really complicated, but I didn’t really feel like I knew where things were heading for a few years there. ...