Favorites from the wedding of my nephew Tony and new niece-in-law (?) Erin, August 16 2008.
It may well be because of my background in plant genetics. But every time I hear the words “GM food”, I think, as many of the people I know do, of genetically modified crops such as tomato, corn, potato, soy, rice, coffee, etc. We do look at boxed food and start to wonder how much of it is made with GMOs (corn is everywhere, dammit). We do look at a cut of meat and we ask ourselves whether the cow was fed with GMOs or not. That’s why noone seems to question why the preference for organic foods is growing.
So, we
don’t think of animals as GMOs. Perhaps we may think of mad cow disease and/or
cloned animals (the sheep Dolly) if we are to ask about the meat we eat. Cloned pigs and
cows are a reality, a fresh one. However, genetically modified animals have
been around longer than most think. At first, exclusively as research subjects
in biomedical and genetic laboratories. Animals such mice, rats, rabbits,
monkeys, zebrafishes, etc, were genetically altered to introduce them genes
whose function is unknown or to make them susceptible to certain compounds, for
example.
Pharming
A new term
for some, an old one for a few. Pharming comes from the combination of the
words farming and pharmaceutical. It refers to the use of transgenic animals or
plants for the purpose of producing drugs for human consumption. The first
authorization of commercialization of one of these drugs was given by the
European Union. The drug was the recombinant human antithrombin from transgenic
goat, which it is used to treat hereditary antithrombin deficiency. More drugs
are on their way (human fibrinogen, C1 inhibitor, human lactoferrin).
Transgenic fish
Do you remember the GloFish case? They are genetically modified fluorescent zebrafishes. Cool, they glow, and they were banned as pets in many places (California in the US, Canada, European Union). But the research didn’t stop there. There is genetically modified salmon developed by Aqua Bounty Technologies. The company is seeking FDA’s approval to start its commercialization. What they did was to insert a promoter (short DNA sequence that controls the expression of a gene) from the ocean pout into the genome of the salmon as to make them produce more growth hormone (GH). Salmons’ GH production is activated by the light of sunny summer days; this promoter makes salmons produce GH permanently. Because of that, they grow as twice as faster as non-transgenic salmons. Thus, it reduces the amount of feed and time they need to reach a marketable size.
Salmon is
not the only fish on the “transgenic grill.” There is also tilapia, rainbow
trout, brown trout as well as mollusks (abalone, surfclam), crustaceans
(shrimp) and echinoderms (sea urchin).
So, we have
GM crops, what’s the problem with having GM animals for food? Well, for one thing plants
do not try to escape from the fields or the greenhouses. Their pollen may
travel relatively short distances and genetically pollute non-GM crops or wild
species that are relatives to the cultivated one. But this can be controlled
efficiently by taking appropriate measures (or so we believe). On the other
hand, animals may escape captivity, if they were given with an opportunity, and
travel relatively long distances afterwards. And that’s the main issue. Cattle
are more likely to stay around if they happen to get through a fence, unlike
fish.
Now, we
don’t know for certain what it would happen to the wild populations of salmon
and other fishes if a salmon with such characteristics were to be released into
the wild. Does this promoter represent an advantage? Not really, it makes them
grow faster in size but it doesn’t mean they will reach maturity faster. If the
transgenic salmon were able to survive in the wild and reproduce successfully.
Then, the most likely thing to happen, it will be the total annihilation of all
the species of fishes the salmon feeds on. The list of preys would include wild
salmon fries, just because they are small. This is called the “Trojan effect.”
Back to
natural ecosystems. Salmon grows in the summer for a soundly good reason, to
leave its food enough time to grow in numbers and in size. Once the transgenic salmons
have no food available, they will either die or migrate to another area. In
case of migration, repeat the annihilation step over again. That’s why there is
a lot of concern among the scientific community about GM fish.
Please, don’t
take me wrong. I am not against the production and commercialization of genetically
modified organisms. I am just concerned about the impact they may have in other
species were they released into the wild (animals) or grown next to wild
populations (animals, plants). I believe that responsible management practices
will make their culture safe. But as we know, safety measures of the kind that
is needed to prevent any problem cost money.
In the end,
we are caught in between protecting the biodiversity of the planet and the
incoming food crisis. What is it going to be? It’s hard to decide and more than
ever this quote from the movie “Gladiator” rings in my head: “what we do in
life echoes in eternity.” I just hope for this echo to be of a good sound.
Go see the Dale Chihuly show at the De Young. Get there at opening time (9:30) because it gets crowded. These are what you see upon entering the show; they're about waist-high. All of his stuff is blown glass - there's a profusion of different forms and colors, and most of it looks like some kind of hallucinatory sea floor.
If you have a monopod for you camera, this would be a good time to carry it along. The below is about 5 feet high.
Below is an actual boat, about ten feet long, filled with, well......
Absolutely amazing.
Share your favorite poem.
I am not a poem guy (though I have written some poetry and have worked hard on it), but there is a poem written by Cesar Vallejo that I like because of the impact some verses made.
First, in its original language:
LOS HERALDOS NEGROS
Hay golpes en la vida, tan fuertes… Yo no sé!
Golpes como del odio de Dios; como si ante ellos,
la resaca de todo lo sufrido
se empozara en el alma… Yo no sé!Son pocos; pero son… Abren zanjas oscuras
en el rostro más fiero y en el lomo más fuerte.
Serán talvez los potros de bárbaros atilas;
o los heraldos negros que nos manda la Muerte.Son las caídas hondas de los Cristos del alma,
de alguna fe adorable que el Destino blasfema.
Esos golpes sangrientos son las crepitaciones
de algún pan que en la puerta del horno se nos quemaY el hombre… Pobre… pobre! Vuelve los ojos, como
cuando por sobre el hombro nos llama una palmada;
vuelve los ojos locos, y todo lo vivido
se empoza, como charco de culpa, en la mirada.Hay golpes en la vida, tan fuertes… Yo no sé!
Now, a translation taken from here
BLACK MESSENGERS
There are in life such hard blows . . . I don't know!
Blows seemingly from God's wrath; as if before them
the undertow of all our sufferings
is embedded in our souls . . . I don't know!There are few; but are . . . opening dark furrows
in the fiercest of faces and the strongest of loins,
They are perhaps the colts of barbaric Attilas
or the dark heralds Death sends us.They are the deep falls of the Christ of the soul,
of some adorable one that Destiny Blasphemes.
Those bloody blows are the crepitation
of some bread getting burned on us by the oven's doorAnd the man . . . poor . . . poor!
He turns his eyes around, like
when patting calls us upon our shoulder;
he turns his crazed maddened eyes,
and all of life's experiences become stagnant, like a puddle of guilt, in a daze.There are such hard blows in life. I don't know.
One of the verses that "hits" me the most is "Hay golpes en la vida, tan fuertes… Yo no sé! / Golpes como del odio de Dios" (There are in life such hard blows . . . I don't know! / Blows seemingly from God's wrath). It could be due to my high school catholic background but if life hits you as hard as God's wrath... nothing will save you.
I am a farmer who raise ducks and cows. The animals have a total of 9 heads and 26 feet. How many ducks and cows do I have?
Submitted by The BlueTie.
x = number or ducks
y = number of cows
a) 2x + 4y = 26 -----> number of feet
2(x + 2y) = 2(13)
2 is common on both sides of the equation thus:
x + 2y = 13
b) x + y = 9 -----> number of heads
Substract b from a and we have that:
y = 4
thus
x = 5
Four cows and five ducks.
How do you travel to and from work - personal vehicle, bus, subway/train, pedal power? What does it cost you per week in gas or fares?
Submitted by Jan.
By bus and I spend about USD 1.75 a week. Yeah, transportation in Peru is that cheap. It also helps I live very close to work, they charge me half of what the normal fare is.
A few hours ago I had learned something that left me wondering about many things. A quote and a link to start:
"In his seven years, Randy Castro has been an aspiring soccer player, an accomplished Lego architect and a Royal Ranger at his Pentecostal church. He also, according to his elementary school record, sexually harassed a first-grade classmate."
Source: The Washington Post
I have to agree with Ted Feinberg (read further in the article). I don't know how people could possibly label a 7 year old a sexual harasser. At that age I don't think anyone can understand fully what sexual is. After I read the article I sat and I thought about it. Are we going too far by labeling and punishing kids who don't have a sense of why they are being punished or labelled for? I don't think there was any malice in Randy's actions and I think the school took a simple matter way too far, and probably is tampering with Randy's future for something he is still to understand years later.
Whose fault is it?
I will post something else from the very same article above to answer this question:
"A 4-year-old in Texas was given an in-school suspension after a teacher's aide accused him of sexual harassment for pressing his face into her breasts when he hugged her."
What the heck? Let me state something, a 4 year old child is barely conscious about their actions. Period. End of the discussion. Here, the adult is at fault, not the kid. The adult thought about the sexual harassment, the kid thought about giving her a good hug. The adult is "sexually awaken", the kid is not. We all should think of kids as what they are, kids, not as little adults.
If we treated them as little adults, what kind of adults they will become?
Show us something cold.
That was my welcoming to the harshness of the Wisconsin winter.
What would make you question a friendship?
Submitted by stueykins.
A lie. Not a minor lie nor a white lie, but a serious lie.
What's your favorite time of day and why?
Late at night, because it's the time I can talk to a very dear friend.
