fastortoise

I am currently reading The Third Chimpanzee by Jared Diamond, which I recommend to anyone who is interested in why us humans are so different than all other animals, mammals and even primates.

So, your mindset (which you share with those of Creationists) includes completely ignoring strong scientific theories? Sounds about right.

Saruman, have you heard of 'emergent properties'?

Let me tell you, no matter how much it hurt and how long I had them in, braces were the best decision of my life. They're worth the pain, stick with it! It is SO nice out this morning in Montreal, I spent all morning reading/tanning until I started burning.. now here I am. This afternoon I will continue cleaning out the garage by filling up my new shed, then celebrate the St-Jean by going to a friend's bbq and getting hammered :thumbsup:

Wish I had your job. I really enjoy giving my lady friends massages, but I wish I could get more experience and proper technique because, as you said... the ladies like :thumbsup:

Couldn't have said it better myself. Also, I hate it when brothers 'own' their own food. Your father bought the groceries to share with everyone, what makes you think the icecream belonged to you? If you weren't in such a difficult time in your life I'd slug you in the back of the head.

I'm pretty sure I've been doing squats at the gym all this time (I'm not being sarcastic.. I'm seriously ignorant when it comes to machine names). One machine I use is a slant (around 45 degrees) which I can add weights to that push down on my shoulders, and I do simple squats (if they're still considered squats). Another is pretty much the opposite - I push weights up away from my body not to get crushed. I also use 2 other machines, one for calves and one for the muscle behind my thighs. I think my problem is that I'm scared to crank up the weight, since I really don't want knee problems. I know when I first started doing them my knees were killing me, but thinking back I now realize my whole body was killing me, and yet I did not discontinue upper body exercises. You guys have inspired me, I'll squat something heavy tonight :thumbup: Also, eating more was taken seriously before I even started training. I'm already scrawny, and I thought if I lost a single pound I'd turn to bones and die :lol: . If I remember correctly, I shed a few pounds for the first month but I've been gaining some ever since, which is the most rewarding part for me.

with awesome bank robberies ensuing :thumbsup:

I'll try: As most people already know, DNA is the chemical that is responsible for making you you. It does so by translating it's information into proteins, which make up the majority of your dry weight. We each differ from one another by 0.0001% (invented number) of our DNA sequences. Since we are all unique, we each have our own 'personal' DNA genome (the sum of all the genes in your body) which was inherited by your parents (50/50). These genetic differences account for the variety of skin, hair, eye colour in our species. A pharmaceutical scientist, however, is more interested in the differences of our metabolisms, how we handle drugs. The important part is here: we now know all diseases have a genetic basis. Therefore, with the complete knowledge on how our genes interact with the environment and themselves, we can potentially cure every single known disease. If we can directly link a certain gene to a disease, we could single out babies who carry this gene prone to a certain disease, then prescribe drugs to counter it. The only (big) problem is, we're all different, and we do not all react to drugs the same. Furthermore, there is hardly ever a direct link between a gene and a disease. Most of the time, it is a combination of several genes and environmental factors that result in a disease, which is why I think it is important to fully understand our genome before linking diseases with genes. An example of how this would work: I'm immune to morphine, so there is probably a mutation in my 'morphine gene' which I inherited from my mother (she too is immune). To 'cure' me, scientists would first have to discover where this gene is located (where on the chromosome) by comparing my genome to a genome of someone who does not have this mutation. Obviously our genomes would differ not only by that one gene but also by several other million genes. That's where the tricky part comes into play. We simply do not have enough humans to cure my problem, which is why scientists turn to organisms who's genomes closely resemble ours (mice/fruit flies). When they find where this mutation is, they can sequence (or 'read' it) to find where the problem is and fix it by prescribing drugs. Of course this example is silly since my immunity to morphine has no health risks, but hopefully you can now appreciate the potential in genetic-based drugs. That would of course help, but I think in the interim knowledge of specific genes, the protein they produce and how they are regulated is crucial. Check out this article for an interesting look into P450 pharmacogenomics research and the hurdles that have been faced: http://www.nature.com/tpj/journal/v3/n1 ... 0144a.html The P450 genes are particularly promising because they target drugs and toxins for removal from the body. An interesting read, but only because I find it was very badly written (strange phrase structuring and obvious spelling mistakes.. and written by a MD). I had trouble following it, and I'm usually capable of reading articles like these (except those leaning heavily to statistics). I read it only an hour ago and I already have trouble picking out the main arguments of the paper - it was just so terribly structured. Was it just about scientists discovering the different levels of the cytochrome based on ethnicity, or about actually finding the gene that coded for it?

No matter how much I work out my legs (which is quite a bit), they still look like chicken legs. My calves jut out like I injected myself with a shin-pad and my thighs are still skinny, even though I can really feel the muscle in them. My legs are probably a lot bigger than they were 6 months ago, but relative to other guy's legs, they're awfully scrawny :oops: Also, 50 chin ups? I consider myself above-average in upper-body strength and I have trouble doing 10.

Some kind of Pinot-Noir, I bought it ages ago for this occasion.

I think that's also the reasoning of many biotech firms, not sure though. Since we cannot clone humans, we clone species that share similar traits with us; such as mice or fruit flies. It's only until we understand how genes interact with each other to produce complex organisms that we can produce drugs without any side-effects. Studies on mice and fruit flies are so crucial for understanding how complex diseases like autism work. I still can't believe a strong advocate for autism cures, Sarah Palin, complained about how much 'science' wasted their budget on fruit fly studies... when they were paving the way to find cures for autism. If there was anyone I'd slug in the back of the head, it would be her. So, to repeat, I think scientists need a better understanding on how the genome operates before they start pinning labels on disease-causing genes.

I was wondering - since the human genome is so complex and since we hardly understand most of it, which will come first; tailored drugs or an 'annotated' genome? The former can be slowly built up by trail and error-ing drugs for stratified groups of people based on their genotypes (like in the article) and the latter can be understood by studying model species like drosophila melanogaster or zebra fish. After some though (I left for a bit before finishing this post), I feel like they go hand-in-hand. I'd like to elaborate, but I don't feel qualified to do so. On a side note, my new life goal is to get a job in a biotech firm somewhere in California and have a slice of the major coin they're making.

This is exactly how I feel. I find it's the only way I can deal with my mortality, and live my life. Knowing it's all going to be over in a few decades is what gives me that extra drive at times, but it's also a comforting stance for when I think about the ones I've lost.

The possibility of tailored drugs is what attracted my to genetics in the first place. I've been watching my grandmother suffer for 5 years trying to find a blood thinner that doesn't give her heart palpitations :cry: . However, in order to make such specific drugs for each individual based on their genome, a LOT of trial and error in required. Hopefully, with the rise of super computers, genome sequencing and data storage will rise to the occasion and enable scientists to make accurate and efficient advances in these trial and errors. I expect genome-based drugs to be effective in 10-15 years and a full catalogue of custom drugs in 30. As they say: 'survive for the next 15 years and expect to live another 100'.

America is a continent, by the way. If it's cold in one country, it'll be hot in another.

I don't own a car, but my parents let me drive their lame-o Subaru wagon if I'm on a date. During the summer, however, I get to drive my (deceased) grand-father's Oldsmobile: [hide=][/hide] My family and I call it the boat, my friends the couch/pimp-mobile :thumbsup: Yes, it is the worst possible car to drive. I don't dare go fast in it because the repairs my dad and I have done to it are EXTREMELY sketchy, but we keep it running since it's old enough to be a collector's item.

I like calling 24 scenes on /tv/ when new episodes are playing. People yell at me to give me instructions to my time machine... I just watched too much 24 for my own good I suppose.

1 dead 4 injured as of now. [cabbage] hit the fan

Today I realized something: the beach is the greatest place on Earth. Every girl I know wanted to come with me and a lot of guys declined, making the girl/boy ratio 3:1. Not only that, when we all arrived, we met up with another pack of girls tanning in the sand.. I'm not sure how many extra contacts I entered on my cell phone that day, but there was a LOT. Today I am pondering if I should be one of those beach-guys. I know they're all douches, but I get to hang around half naked beauties all day... so I'm in.

It was always called H1N1, and "swine flu" is technically inaccurate because it has components of human and avian flu in it as well. Given how people have overreacted buy avoiding pork products (thousands of pigs were even slaughtered in Egypt, from memory) when you can't get swine flu from them, it's prefectly reasonable to call it H1N1 instead. No it's not. Swine flu is so much easier to say and if stupid people want to starve to death then let them. Really? Well, I've lost all hope. Anyone else?

Fleury's save was pretty sweet though. WOOOOOOOOOOOOO GO PENS I honestly only watched the last 3 minutes, and fleury's save at 1 second left was incredible... i wish he had played for the habs :cry:

It's not too bad when your arms are vertical, but when they're horizontal... woh-nelly. My friends and I were doing some 'reps' at the gym with their stick&weight, I couldn't help but cringe and yell and squeal as I tried doing a 4th rep. One guy, like you said, thought I was just being a nancy and tried it out for himself. He did the 4, but could barely move his arms after :lol: As for sit-ups, I decided not to post a lengthy section for them. Everyone has their special way of doing them, I'm just telling them to do it.

Recently, I've been physically 'active' as I browsed forums, watched online TV and wrote essays. It's proven to be really beneficial (some muscle-mass gained, and I just feel healthier). Here are my easy exercises: 1- Squats! Every half hour or so, simply roll/slide your computer chair to the other side of the room and sit in an invisible one. Just make sure your knees don't go behind your heels - I don't want anybody getting hurt : . Hold for as long as you wish, establish a minimum for yourself and slowly increase it daily. 2- Sit-Ups. It took a bit of motivation to do this after every hour of surfing, but it's DEFINITELY worth it. It's one of the few exercises that requires HOURS of work, and it always adds up (relate to runescape skilling). Whether you want to have semi-strong abs to prepare for hardcore training or if you want to tone your body even more, this one is perfect during surfing breaks. 3- Push-ups. They are the barometer of strength, and there's many different ways of doing them. Personally, I do 2 sets a day, since it strains my body a lot. Don't over-do it, but every little bit helps your body to get used to these things. I suggest stopping as soon as you feel yourself forcing too much for the first few weeks. 4- This is my personal favourite. It requires something heavy, some string and a stick (hockey stick for us canuks). Tie the rope around the heavy object and attach it to the middle of the stick (picture the stick horizontally in your mind). The point is to bring the weight up from the ground to your hands by rotating the string around the stick. It's the most effective forearm exercise I've ever done (I visit the gym weekly), it pumps them into bowling pins. You can either do it with your arms vertically, which only forces your forearms, or you can try holding your arms horizontally for a fully upper body workout. I love this one because I can do it sitting down, keeping my back straight. Please ask for more precise directions if you do not understand how to make this simple contraption. I strongly encourage everyone to do these exercises REGULARLY, you don't have to outdo yourself each time - just make sure it's often (If you can do all 4 every hour, you're in business :thumbsup: ). I hardly break (very rarely) into a sweat each time I do an exercise, since that is not the point of this challenge. I know many of you are like me and wish to live long healthy lives, this is the first step to one. For the discussion - please share any tips you're picked up over your Internet browsing years.

I'm with my main man Freud - sex is everything. That and I couldn't possibly leave the ones I love behind get laid