13 reasons to not eat food at all...

[Guest guest]

Dolly-

You're absolutely right- it's a 'damned if you do, damed if you don't,'

scenario.

Bean sprouts with bacteria on them killed 6 people late last year.

A salad bar with improperly cleaned lettuce killed a handful at about the

same time.

The best best best course of action is to increase the amount of research

done, develop a test to find out if we have it (I worry every day that my

eye surgery was done with a used blade), and work on a proven clinical

treatment. Wives tales, herbs, and prayers may make some people feel better,

but I think that money needs to be spent and the guys in the lab need to

figure this thing out.

Think about this-

Right now, they are developing a VIRUS vector, i/o/w a means of moving good

genes into cells using a virus' outer shell, USING the AIDS virus!!! (This

is okay, since the bad part has been taken out.) HOWEVER, the body mounts a

defense against this vector, making gene therapy a 'one time deal,' since

the body gets better and better at fighting the virus, so fewer of the good

genes make it to cells.

So? What does this have to do with CJD?

Well, friends, if our bodies truly do not mount an immune defense against

the prion, wouldn't the prion be the perfect messenger to get to ailing

cells? Couldn't every genetic-disease victim benefit from a clear

understanding of the prion? Huntington is a disease of the genes. Well, you

can fix genes if you can deliver a new set of genes to the affected cell.

Maybe you won't affect every cell, but you might be able to fix enough of

them that the person at least survives a little longer. Problem- How do you

sneak good genes into a cell? The body rejects things by attacking them at

the molecular level because the body KNOWS this is a 'non-self' invader. Is

it good for us for our body to reject therapies? Who cares, the body says,

it doesn't THINK about the effect, it just wipes out anything recognized as

non-self.

Can we use a prion to administer gene therapy?

Who knows? But I'll tell you this- if the AIDS virus is a good choice

because of the body's slow attack, wouldn't a prion be a better choice with

NO ATTACK?

Why aren't every group who is interested in a genetic disease on our side?

Why aren't they clamoring for research on prions?

If we understood the prion, we could lasso that sucker and ride it to town.

Every one of us lights a fire 4800 times per minute (at idle) in the engine

of our car. 25000 years ago we ran from fire, afraid of what it did to Uncle

Grog when he got caught in it. Now, we depend upon a clear understanding of

it to make our lives possible.

Same for lightning / electricity.

You get the point.

NO ONE KNOWS the possibilities of what this could mean. Science could figure

this thing out in a matter of months if our resources were put there. Forget

the CDC, let's figure out why the national labs aren't working on prions!

That " sightings " page yesterday led me to an interesting article about the

Fermilab in Chicago doing research about anti-matter / matter collisions in

the microseconds after the big bang. Are there any taxpayers who were alive

at the big bang, for gods sake? NO! Our government is wasting the brightest

minds and the hugest sums on things they are CURIOUS about while this

'scientific oddity' is going unresearched.

A possible headline in the future: " Fermilab discovers new particle that

explains why universe exists. "

On the back page? " The last person on earth died today from a mysterious

brain-eating disease. "

Ignore Shonberger- he doesn't get it. Lets ask our Representatives to FORCE

the labs to study prions.

" Who gives a rats patootie about sub-atomic particles " Wade

P.S.- Terry- thanks for lending me the " CAPS LOCK " key...

> Re: (http://www.sightings.com/health/madcowinf

>

>

> From: DBC006@...

>

> Bev & Terry:

>

> I was just reading the segment at the site called " 13

> Reasons to Go Veggie " .

> My comment is this....

>

> What do farmers put on their vegetables to make them richly

> grow? Anybody

> ever hear of cow manure? Has it been proven that the prion agent is not

> present in the manure of a cow with MCD?

>

> This same scenario holds true for organic veggies...

> sooooooooo.... here we

> go back to the same ole cycle...

>

> Comments?

>

> Dolly