Astrology and Intelligent Design

New Scientist reported on the current Intelligent Design trial in the U.S.A. In particular, the testimony of one Intelligent Design (ID) proponent was weak.

Behe said he had come up with his own “broader” definition of a theory, claiming that this more accurately describes the way theories are actually used by scientists. “The word is used a lot more loosely than the NAS defined it,” he says.
Rothschild suggested that Behe’s definition was so loose that astrology would come under this definition as well. He also pointed out that Behe’s definition of theory was almost identical to the NAS’s definition of a hypothesis. Behe agreed with both assertions.

In short, Behe conceded that by strict definition, ID wasn't a scientific theory, so he had to use a more liberal definition of theory in order to be able to label both ID and evolution as theories. That smacks of redefining a square peg to be a circle so it'll fit a round hole in name.

However, I wonder what ID proponents would think of the "science" of Vedic astrology, which is supported by the government of India.

The Commission in its meeting held on 16th June, 2000 considered the proposal for setting up of Departments of Vedic Astrology in Indian Universities and decided that “there is an urgent need to rejuvenate the science of Vedic Astrology in India, to allow this scientific knowledge to reach to the society at large and to provide opportunities to get this important science even exported to the world, the Commission decided to approve ‘in principle’ setting up of few departments of Vedic Astrology in Indian universities. This would provide a exclusive teaching and training in the subject leading to certificate diploma, under-graduate, post-graduate and Ph.D. degrees”.

The link between religion and violence

David Grossman's model of how the resistance to killing is overcome is quite enlightening. Group identification and respect for authority play a role in breaking down any innate psychological resistance to killing. Increasing physical and psychological distance from the victim also helps.

However, that's merely a mechanism for enabling violence. The grand strategy of violence, i.e. "Why are we killing?", generally requires an ethos. Religion is but one of several sources of an answer to why. What does the group represent? What does the authority advocating violence represent? Why are the victims worthy of death? The answers to these questions and the resulting moral clarity can be an enabler for violence.

The jock stereotype is not helping

I recently ran across an article warning that women were outnumbering men in U.S. colleges and the impact thereto. Things seemed reasonable, until I got to the final paragraphs.

For his part, author Gurian says one reason colleges may fail to attract more men is precisely because they are more geared to female learning styles and interests. Colleges that want to compete for the dwindling pool of men should emphasize male interests, such as sports, he says, and offer more male role models.
But meaningful change must take place well before the college years, says Gurian, who acknowledges a personal interest in the subject: He has two daughters. "We all know a boy that's struggling," he says. "If we create a generation of men who aren't getting an education, that's bad for women."

And just what exactly are the jobs that these additional men would get in sports? That's as daft as recommending that colleges appeal to more women by increasing funding for art history majors and basket weavers. Majoring in sports counts as being educated? Here's some news for you, Mr. Gurian: not to most women, it doesn't.

Influenza perspective

It should be noted that "regular" non-pandemic influenza (apparently H3N2) kills tens of thousands each year in the U.S.A. alone as a baseline. From a 2003 CDC press release:

Using new and improved statistical models, CDC scientists estimate that an average of 36,000 people (up from 20,000 in previous estimates) die from influenza-related complications each year in the United States.

Theoretically, infecting people with a relatively benign form of H5Nx might firewall a pandemic version by offering up at least partial resistance. The downside would be an increase in deaths due to the normal course in influenza. As well, one would have to ensure no other forms of influenza were present in order to avoid unintended recombination.

Chemokines and kimchee

A seemingly outlandish bit of research from South Korea claims that kimchi may work against bird flu.

I've come up with a potential mechanism. Spicy food promotes inflammation. A recent study demonstrated that inflammation can boost CC chemokine sensitivity in rats.

CCL5 is in fact a CC chemokine. In an earlier post, I noted that CCL5 had potential against influenza.

Thus, spicy food may be amplifying existing immune response mechanisms and give the organism an edge against influenze infection. This is highly speculative, but worth exploring. Being able to upregulate and downregulate chemokine and cytokine production may be key techniques in the future.

No US troop buildup for North korea

Bush once said of North Korea: "All options were on the table." It appears that many options were explored in the past; in particular, the nuclear option.

The U.S. Forces Korea conducted nuclear attack flight drills in 1968 and as recently as June 1991 at Gunsan Air Force Base, a ruling party lawmaker said Tuesday. Choi Sung told a parliamentary audit of the Foreign Ministry he had confirmation from U.S. State and Defense Department papers released under the Freedom of Information Act that large-scale nuclear training exercises were conducted in 1968, from brigade to division levels, in which “all nuclear weapons” were used.
"Between January and June 1991, the eighth Fighter Wing of the Gunsan base participated in surface-to-air and air-to-air atomic warfare flight training,” he added. Based on the documents, he said Sunday that 11 types of nuclear weapons systems were deployed across the country, and 16 USFK bases transported or stored nuclear weapons between 1958 and 1991.

I wonder if this report will keep Kim Jong Il up at night.

Anti-cancer stem cells

Stem cells have been coaxed into forming killer cells to fight cancer.

Researchers generated "natural killer" cells from the human embryonic stem cells. As part of the immune system, natural killer cells normally are present in the blood stream and are play a role in defending the body against infection and against some cancers.

Extrapolating further, in principle we could augment our immune systems via stem cell manipulation.

A possible treatment avenue for influenza?

This recent Washington University School of Medicine press release is intriguing.

Enlisted to help fight viral infections, immune cells called macrophages consume virus-infected cells to stop the spread of the disease in the body. Now researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have uncovered how macrophages keep from succumbing to the infection themselves. Boosting this mechanism may be a way to speed recovery from respiratory infections...
"If the macrophages were to die, the infection would spread further," says senior author Michael J. Holtzman, M.D., the Selma and Herman Seldin Professor of Medicine and director of pulmonary and critical care medicine. "So the macrophages use a protein called CCL5 to ensure that the infection process can be stopped before it goes any further."
Holtzman thinks the information about the role of CCL5 may lead to new methods to hasten recovery from respiratory viral inflections like influenza or the common cold, which at present have no pharmacological cure.

Avian flu: a threat that will not go away

Mass industrialization has contributed to a perfect storm for avian flu to break out?

... industrial chicken operations are growing exponentially thanks to the resettlement of large agribusinesses in search of lower operational costs. Last year in Latin America and the Caribbean, there were over 2.5 billion chickens, nearly 1 billion more than 10 years ago, according to the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization. In 2004, according to Worldwatch Institute, Brazil became the world's second-largest poultry producer, just behind the United States.
Such expansion of industrial farming in less developed countries usually is accompanied by poor surveillance and control ...
Poor hygienic conditions in confined animal feeding operations, or factory farms, and their relative proximity to large concentrations of people compound the problem. Factory farms account for more than 40 percent of world meat production, up from 30 percent in 1990, according to the Worldwatch Institute's report, "Happier Meals: Rethinking the Global Meat Industry." Located near urban centers in countries with weak public health, occupational, and environmental standards, those farms "create the perfect environment for the spread of diseases, including outbreaks of avian flu," the institute said.

A precis of the above report can be found on the Worldwatch Institute web site.

A discussion hosted by the Council of Foreign Relations also raises the scenario.

ANTHONY FAUCI: That really is one of the real major problems, is that if you look at what has evolved over the past few years, given the relationship between economies of the countries involved and the relationship between flocks of chickens, the cross-contamination with migratory fowl, and the dependence of individual countries on these chicken flocks, it would have to be almost an economic revolution in the countries to be able to address it in a way that would essentially put a major block in the way of the ultimate progression.
I think the things that people don't understand, and we were just discussing this outside, we may well— in fact, it is highly likely— that we'll get away this year without there being a pandemic flu. But then what people will say is, "Well, OK, we've dodged that bullet. Let's move on to the next problem, whatever the next problem is, and likely not influenza." But the ingredients that have gone into the situation where we are right now, where we have over 100 documented infections, 54-plus deaths, is not going to go away, because the chickens are still infected, the customs and practices of the interaction between fowl, pigs, and humans in these Asian countries is not changing. So that the ingredients that gave us the issue that we have now are going to reappear next year. It may still be H5N1 or it may be H9N2 or it may be something else.
So unless we, as a global effort, get the countries involved to take a look at the conditions in those countries, and how we can alleviate them without destroying the economy of those countries, this problem is not going to go away.

While they are primarily focused on Asia, it is clear that other regions around the globe are potential flash points as well. Also, while H5N1 has captured popular attention, the CFR piece indicates that other influenza variants are also viable threats.

Evaluating credibility

First, a summary of the al Qaida plans allegedly recently intercepted.

The letter of instructions and requests outlines a four-stage plan, according to officials: First, expel American forces from Iraq. Second, establish a caliphate over as much of Iraq as possible. Third, extend the jihad to neighboring countries, with specific reference to Egypt and the Levant — a term that describes Syria and Lebanon. And finally, war against Israel.

The strategic goals are consistent with an extant 1998 fatwa issued by Osama bin Laden, which itself lends credibility to the document. The strategy appears to be viable, though I can't estimate the likelihood of success or failure. Point two would require civil war in Iraq.

"The situation is so tense... a civil war could erupt at any moment although some people would say it is already there," Amr Moussa told BBC radio's Today programme.
"There are a lot of individuals... now playing games with the future of Iraq and there is no clear strategy, there is no clear leadership."
The Arab League, he said, would work to bring Iraq's different religious and ethnic groups together.

State-run eugenics?

I was pointed at this article on Booman Tribune which ranted on about a draft legislation on assisted reproduction in Indiana which would require that the prospective parents, marriage being a requirement, file a "petition for parentage" with an unspecified agency. The piece then proceeds with a feminist trope about this constituting state control of women's bodies.

I took a look at the draft legislation (PDF) and spotted a section which made me question the intent of the draft legislation.

The assessment must follow the normal practice for assessments in a domestic infant adoption procedure and must include the following information:
...
Personal information about each intended parent, including the following:
(A) Family of origin.
(B) Values.
(C) Relationships.
(D) Education.
(E) Employment and income.
(F) Hobbies and talents.
(G) Physical description, including the general health of the individual.
(H) Birth verification.
(I) Personality description, including the strengths and weaknesses of each intended parent.

Hobbies? Talents? Unless the purpose involves eugenics, that makes little sense. It seems to have been copied as boilerplate from adoption considerations.

What is the birth family's racial, ethnic, cultural, and religious background?
...
What is the general physical description of the child's birth parents, siblings, and other close relatives?
...
What are the special skills, abilities, talents, or interests of birth parents and family members?
...
What are the child's special interests, talents, and/or hobbies?

It's rather pointless to preemptively attempt a match of talents and hobbies between prospective parents and a prospective child that hasn't even been conceived. There's nothing to match against. Even cultural and religious considerations aren't relevant, since the child would be immersed in the culture and religion of the parents from early childhood; there's no possibility of culture shock. Blindly treating assisted reproduction as the equivalent of adoption doesn't work.

Furthermore, consideration of the hobbies and talents of prospective donors smacks of state-run eugenics.

Graham and Smith advertised their wares in a highly unglamorous mimeographed catalog. It identified each donor with a color and number, summarized him—"Gifted research biologist at world renowned research center"—and described his personality, manual dexterity, hobbies, athletic achievements, and general health. It also listed standard features such as ethnic ancestry, eye color, skin color, hair color, height, weight, and general appearance.