voting with style. salt bae.

tissue and organ regeneration in adults - review

dear daisy,

the professor asked me to write a review about his book: his choice of word - oxymoronic to describe the title caught my eyes and attention. it is fair enough that we human do not have the genetic ability to regenerate and heal like doctor who or mr. wolverine. there are so much of science fiction in tissue engineering and organ regeneration. we hoped that someday that we not only can prolong lives, but to embrace immortality. this may sound far-fetch and not-in-our-lifetime goal but the idea and knowledge on biotechnology and sciences are becoming more exciting ever since intelligent drug delivery and regenerative medicine were first coined in the 1950s - at the time, the questions on human ethics and concern were raised in a famous conference which covered by the rolling stone magazine. last year, more than 100 scientists from all around the world gathered in so-called the secret meeting to discuss on human genetic editing and creation of life - from scratch. although moratarium had been set to restrict 'human genetic modification', the chinese are aggressively conducting research on human embryos and publicly declaring their efforts to the world, ignoring international concerns on the serious implications of this technology.

the idea that human engineering is instructive to morality seems to be deeply wired in our thinking. today we are facing an emergence of reality that the technology we hoped to bring cure and care to the humanity, can also bring destruction and spread of diseases. we clearly have no idea how genetic modification of animals like pig, can be humanized and serve as spare parts for human.

perhaps we need to be reminded of yann martel's writing on 'we ate the children last'.

it is clear that this day would come and it is impossible to control any new scientific process. we are entering a new era where there is no precedent and the civilization is now confronting an unknown consequences of biotechnology.

maybe it is the time for human to look for soul searching, as T.S. Eliot put it in his writing;

where is the wisdom that we have lost in knowledge,

where is the knowledge that we have lost in information.

in all of my years, one thing does not change,

it is the perpetual struggle of good and evil.

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(i will post my review after the prof. comment - )

ha.. i didn't realize that i quoted t.s. eliot the second time)

23andme - genetic testing - schadenfreude

protection of patients' genetic and medical records is a basic human right.

predictive test for disease susceptibility can have negative influence and implications in patients' life and sense of well being. genetic interpretation is not simple for most disease and traits.

variation can occur at the single nucleotide - called polymorphism. it is a complicated and holistic biology - a single gene can be responsible to many specific functions and to complement other gene functions.  just like when we have to explain to a laymen that endocrine receptors are responsible for facial blushing, palpitation, sweating, hard to breathe - the patient could just be nervous (to meet the love of his life) or maybe having a metabolic disorder.

it is very irresponsible to dupe clients into believing that they have the probability of getting sick.

we do not need unnecessary worry because without understanding genomics we cannot decide whether having early genetic tests will improve health and living quality or causing financial burden to the patients.

(in response to 23and me selling to clients genetic test after assessing their vulnerability to heriditary diseases)

.........

Have you ever loved someone so much, you'd give an arm for? Not the expression, no, literally give an arm for? When they know they're your heart And you know you were their armour And you will destroy anyone who would try to harm her But what happens when karma, turns right around and bites you? And everything you stand for, turns on you to spite you?

a portrait of an artist as a young man

questions of science and progress in genome engineering

the virtue of morality in nature is still questionable and subjected to debate.

according to t. huxley, nature is no school of virtue and that in the context of 'survival of the fittest', nature have set examples that superiority is the key for longevity and prosper. 

in my opinion, scientists should always view the subject in different ways to understand the reality and situation of life by not falling into 'naturalistic fallacies'. taken the context from mary shelley's frankenstein, science is without guidance, and moral imperative - would be irrational. the story represents scientist's dark secrecy, driven by so-called motivation for general benefit of humanity and public good, his hunger for power led him to unethical works and irresponsibility. human is the ultimate cause of his monster's misdeed.

"genetic evolution is about to become conscious and volitional, and usher in a new epoch in the history of life" according to evolutionary biologist, edward o. wilson in his book, consilience. the current epoch is holocene and until 2008, a group of scientists announced that we had entered a new epoch called anthropocene, to emphasize the effect of human activities on the geosphere, the term which is not yet formally adopted by geological time scale.  

.... i will tell you my sin and you can sharpen your knife,

good God, let me give you my life....

there is no sweeter innocence... only gentle sin..

we were born sick, but i love it, command me to be well,

amen. amen. amen.

                                                                                     hozier - take me to church.

in the bittersweet of genome editing and creation of neo-human via tissue engineering, romanticizing the idea and discussion as T.S eliot put it in the rock

where is life that we have lost,

where is wisdom we have lost in knowledge

where is knowledge we have lost in information.

all our knowledge brings us nearer to death, 

however you disguise it, this thing does not change,

the perpetual struggle of good and evil.

stephen shapin wrote in Boston Review on the virtue of scientists, scientism virtue - can scientists be good and trustworthy given that scientific conclusion should be no more trusted like financial derivatives. a good and ethical scientist should always question and challenge his own methods and conclusions, and set boundaries, which is not to avert the scientific progression, but for security reason that in the realm of unknown, protection setting is necessary for any predicament.

the extent of financial crisis causing millions of people suffer from loss and displacement bring to the thought of the unpredictable effects of gene manipulation. 

enhancement of genetics can instigate social divisions where power and money can buy favorable traits - good looks, mathematically intelligence, tallness, superficially pale from manipulators- the scientists or famously called the human element manager, term taken  from dystopian the new brave world, by a.h. huxley.

jeniffer doudna expressed her concern in the new yorker about the consequences of her finding, and the bigger question lies in WHAT IF the technology falls to the wrong hand, as she recalled from her lucid dream with hitler, of his eugenics and human experimentation to atrocities that revealed in the nuremberg convention, we can only imagine the kind of horrible uses he could put it to.

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note://unfinished/brainstew-jaded/greenday - reading: modern prometheus, jim kozubek.

love in time and space

the darker and real side of love is there will always be pain.
..'every lover in his heart, a madman and in his head, a minstel'.. neil gaiman - in stardust.

life sometimes can be a rollercoaster ride, but perhaps we need to be reminded that from loss, remarkable things may happen. that even in the cataclysmic event of losing someone or something we dearly love, may give birth to something beautiful.

let us not let the fear of losing, tragedy and heartbreak shake our existential core - of every essence as a human. to be human is to accept fate.

the infinite thing about loving and missing someone so dear is actually the way of proceeding through space and time - that so called eternal love, lives beyond our existance.

and from my humble understanding about the relativity of time, love is evergreen. and if someday we were able to break the spell of linear time, perhaps we can stop goodbye from happening.