Metaphor, Morality, and Politics. The essay Metaphor, Morality, and Politics is a great read. I have to study it carefully to find out how the ideas in the essay fit with my thinking. There should be more texts which 'think outside the box' out there on the net. [Universal Rule]

Okay. I'll have to reread this tomorrow. Some sounds reasonable. Some sounds like claptrap. I agree that Conservatives do a much better job getting their message across to their followers. Liberals fail here, to their detriment. Maybe it is the metaphor of morality as he applies it to politics?   10:53:51 PM    

Hierarchy and silence. Hilary Burden: Dysfunctional institutions mobilise to defend themselves at their weakest points. They want passion in their organisation, but when they woo it, they try to control it because they fear it more than anything. So creative energy is tamed and cooled by the twin weapons of hierarchy and silence. [The Guardian] [Jinn of Quality and Risk]

This is a horror story that is being widely repeated. I have seen this first hand. In the long run, if these institutions exist in an industry that requires creativity and innovation to function, they will fail. The separation between the creators and the board of directors is a chasm impossible to cross. The only path these companies have is to get so big that they always have money to buy others passion and creative energy. This is a business model that works but you will not find much of that passion or creativity in the dysfunctional institution, no matter how much they discuss it in their mission statement. The people running such a company lack any true creativity or are rightly fearful of it, because innovation brings change. The prototypical MBA does not want change; they want stability.  10:18:03 PM    

Public Release: 26-Jan-2003
Nature Immunology
Newly identified gut protein kills bacteria
Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered a new antibiotic protein that appears to kill certain types of bacteria in the intestine.
National Institutes of Health, AstraZeneca, Burroughs-Wellcome Fund

Contact: Gila Z. Reckess
314-286-0109
Washington University School of Medicine

[Eurekalert - Biology]

This is really cool. A protein that seems to be invoolved in blood vessel formation is also a powerful antibiotic if it is released by cells in the gut. Proteins having multiple uses will be something that we will see a lot. But what is even stranger here is that apparently its expression is controlled by a 'friend;y' bacterium found in the gut. Working out this system could be a real paradigm shift. If you take antibiotics that also kill the good bacteria, are you making it easier for the bad bacteria to get a foothold? Why do bad bacteria not mutate to get around the antibiotic activity of this protein? They do when we take antibiotics. The answers to some of these questions could tell us a lot about how to defeat bacterial infections.  10:02:03 PM    

Public Release: 27-Jan-2003
New protein will help fight inflammation
A joint research project by scientists in Cardiff, Wales, UK, has developed a new protein, which could end the suffering of thousands. The research, at Cardiff University and the University of Wales College of Medicine (UWCM), and funded mainly by the Wellcome Trust, is designed to tackle the problem of chronic inflammation [^] which can lead to serious disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis and bacterial peritonitis.
Wellcome Trust

Contact: Dr Wendy Ross
RossW@cardiff.ac.uk
44-292-087-4673
Cardiff University

[Eurekalert - Biology]

I hate these sorts of press releases. They do not say what the protein is or what it does. Checking google reveals that the scientists are involved in inflammatory cytokines, but there are a lot of them. IL-6 is one they seem to be working on now but is this the one in the release. Who knows? Not very informative. I guess they just want to announce that someone is giving them money for whatever it is.  9:56:15 PM    

Sleeping sickness bug swallowed a plant [Nature Science Update]

It would be interesting to see what genes these are. The fact that the parasite that causes sleeping sickness once had chloroplasts is interesting. The fact that after losing the need for chloroplasts, some of the plastids genes moved to the parasite's chromosome is more interesting. The fact that these genes may now be necessary for its survival is the most interesting. What genes, that once were necessary for exploiting sunlight , are now required for living? It looks like they are used for degrading sugars rather than synthesizing them. If so, this would indicate that the enzymes that make up this pathway altered in ways that would be very interesting to understand. Enzymes catalyze chemical reactions. As such, the reaction can really proceed in either direction. Usually, by altering the concentrations of the reactants, a specific direction is maintained. It would be unusual but amazing if these enzymes now work "backward" because of the new biological system.  9:45:56 PM    

Between Iraq and a Hard Place. If you missed the Channel 4 screening of "Between iraq and a hard place" by Bremner, Bird and Fortune it's worth watching [Realplayer]. Here's some choice quotes from the transcript [Word doc, file size: 80kb, 57 pages]: RORY: And so Iraq was created. By us. The trouble was it had never been a country. Just a collection of tribes. Kurds, Marsh Arabs, Shiites, Sunnis, Turcomans, Jews, Assyrians. Mostly they detested each other, so you would think it would be a tough job for Britain to unite them. JOHN FORTUNE: But we did it. Less than 3 years after we took over, they all got together to throw us out. That revolt was put down by British troops but the Arab tribesmen and the Kurds kept... [Monkey X - Hairy Thoughts]

Well, this is an interesting perspective. Obviously not an American channel. Check out its website to get an idea of what sorts of news it finds most tempting. WIfe Swapping. Looking for more volunteers to tell all. It sure is educational.  9:35:14 PM