FYI: sad finding

BBC 08/07/07:

Rare river dolphin 'now extinct'
A freshwater dolphin found only in China is now "likely to be extinct", a team of scientists has concluded.
The researchers failed to spot any Yangtze river dolphins, also known as baijis, during an extensive six-week survey of the mammals' habitat.

The team, writing in the Royal Society Biology Letters journals, blamed unregulated fishing as the main reason behind the dolphins' demise.

It would be the first extinction of a large vertebrate for over 50 years.

The World Conservation Union's Red List of Threaten Species currently classifies the creature as "critically endangered".


We have yet to take full responsibility in our role as guardians of the planet
Dr Sam Turvey,
Zoological Society of London
Sam Turvey of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), one of the paper's co-authors, described the findings as a "shocking tragedy".

"The Yangtze river dolphin was a remarkable mammal that separated from all other species over 20 million years ago," Dr Turvey explained.

"This extinction represents the disappearance of a complete branch of the evolutionary tree of life and emphasises that we have yet to take full responsibility in our role as guardians of the planet."

'Incidental impact'

The species (Lipotes vexillifer) was the only remaining member of the Lipotidae, an ancient mammal family that is understood to have separated from other marine mammals, including whales, dolphins and porpoises, about 40-20 million years ago.

The white, freshwater dolphin had a long, narrow beak and low dorsal fin; lived in groups of three or four and fed on fish.

The team carried out six-week visual and acoustic survey, using two research vessels, in November and December 2006.

"While it is conceivable that a couple of surviving individuals were missed by the survey teams," the team wrote, "our inability to detect any baiji despite this intensive search effort indicates that the prospect of finding and translocating them to a [reserve] has all but vanished."

The scientists added that there were a number of human activities that caused baiji numbers to decline, including construction of dams and boat collisions.

"However, the primary factor was probably unsustainable by-catch in local fisheries, which used rolling hooks, nets and electrofishing," they suggested.

"Unlike most historical-era extinctions of large bodied animals, the baiji was the victim not of active persecution but incidental mortality resulting from massive-scale human environmental impacts - primarily uncontrolled and unselective fishing," the researchers concluded.



Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/6935343.stm

Published: 2007/08/07 23:53:05 GMT

How the Past Informs the Future

1. What significance would you attribute to chimps "making tool"?
It seems to tell us something that we already know which is that at some point humans (evolving from chimpanzees) made weapons to kill their prey and tools to assist in labor. What the new chimp observations tell us perhaps, is that this was
happening sooner than we thought. A lot of our gender roles, i believe, have been re-inforced by habit and tradition and sometimes encouraged by the roles we observe in animals. If people did their research they'd find that there is a gammet of gender-bending animal behaviors among the animal kingdom, so it's surprising that we've created such stringent roles for humans. In either case, be it the chimps of West Africa's use of tools or the focussed and strong throws of the females, this is one group in one location. It certainly offers insight, but should not be used for general conclusions.

2. Giant toads or colossal squid-- whatever's next?
Nothing surprises me anymore when it comes to Nature (don't quote me on that!). Mother Nature's creations have taken on so many shapes and forms---- it's absolutely stunning and sometimes on the verge of unbelievable. The smallest ants gathering leaves amaze me, their form and their instinctual organization. Imagining a squid 10X my size is crazy, like something out of 'Alien'-- but it's REAL! How f**kin cool! How will Nature continue to evolve? What conditions caused such size in the first place? It's ever changing, that's the thing: stories like these are never going to end!

Top U.S. Cash Crops

According to Wikipedia:

The top twenty agricultural products of the United States by value as reported by the FAO in 2003 (ranked in order of value with mass in metric tons):

1. Corn 256,904,992
2. Cattle meat 11,736,300
3. Cow's milk, whole, fresh 78,155,000
4. Chicken meat 15,006,000
5. Soybeans 65,795,300
6. Pig meat 8,574,290
7. Wheat 63,589,820
8. Cotton lint 3,967,810
9. Hen eggs 5,141,000
10. Turkey meat 2,584,200
11. Tomatoes 12,275,000
12. Potatoes 20,821,930
13. Grapes 6,125,670
14. Oranges 10,473,450
15. Rice, paddy 9,033,610
16. Apples 4,241,810
17. Sorghum 10,445,900
18. Lettuce 4,490,000
19. Cottonseed 6,072,690
20. Sugar beets 27,764,390

The only other crops to ever appear in the top twenty in the last 40 years were, commonly, tobacco, barley, and oats, and, rarely, peanuts, almonds, and sunflower seeds (in all, only 26 of the 188 crops the FAO tracks worldwide). Alfalfa and hay would both be in the top ten in 2003 if they were tracked by FAO.

Not quite a "staple food," but... according to ABC News:

Marijuana Called Top U.S. Cash Crop
Marijuana Takes the Pot as Most Valuable Cash Crop in the Country. Marijuana is the top cash crop in 12 states and among the top three cash crops in 30, according to a new study. http://abcnews.go.com/Business/story?id=2735017

Ha!

Which Way Forward?

1. If you had access to all resources how would you deal with "the global crisis in diet"?
1. Distribution of Information. So that nobody can say, "i didn't know," after they've bitten into a fast-food sandwhich with enough sodium to exceed their daily value.
2. More education: Public service announcements of the effects of high fat, high sugar, high sodium diets can have on their health, and most importantly on their childrens' health.
3. Critique specific businesses publically. Our local and national news, as well as our food critics should be handling this issue and targeting offensive reataurant chains to change their habits.
4. Do NOT serve Taco Bell, McDonald's, Pizza Hut or Burger King in our school cafeterias!! Students (or anybody) should not be eating processed food which makes you comatose and constipated, to be blunt. School districts should be making business alliances with local farmers and grocers to have healthy food provided. (If kids are addicted to the other crap, they can bring it from home, but at least the school won't be providing it).
5. Teach children about responsible investing and the most basic level: giving corporations (or non-corporations) your monetary support when you recognize that they are nourishing the community. Help children, teens and adults see that they have the power to demand changes about what goes into their bodies.

2. Would you expect "carbon offsets" to work effectively?
I think that it sounds like a pretty cool idea that is worth a try. I'd be very interested to see (and hopefully breathe) the results. The cynic in me (which thankfully is not my presiding instinct) says that polluters will find a way to pollute, that big businesses will find loopholes, and that the overall effect will not change. The idealist in me sees that simply the step of making individuals aware of what they are "spending" on a daily basis could have huge effects. I think that along with the "carbon offset" program there would need to be a lot of regular and serious inspections of companies' usage, as well as on ongoing educational team that work with everybody to learn how to continually cut carbon-spending quarterly.

3. Do you agree that laughter really is the best medicine?
How do you feel after you've had a really hardy (hearty) laugh? like you've relaxed, released tension, let-go, disregarded that little voice that says to stay in control? maybe you've even cried or felt suddenly thankful for whatever/whoever brought laughter into your day. I am not surprised if there are biochemical reactions that reduce your stress-level or boost your immune system. Laughter brings us to the present moment, in touch with the juice of life instead of struggling against it. If people could stop and laugh more often and find the beauty in making someone else truly smile, i'm sure we'd all be a lot happier and healthier.

Restoring the American Bison to its Rightful Range

1. How would you prioritize the reintroduction of the American Bison?
I think it seems very important. It's hard to prioritze things like this in the scape of potential world war, famine, local homelessness, illiteracy, etc. etc., but I think that at the core of a lot of our unrest, racial discrimination, displaced communities, and apathy are histories like that of the American Buffalo. As Fred Du Bray of the Cheyenne River Sioux said, "We recognize the bison is a symbol of our strength and unity, adn that as we bring our herds back to health, we will also bring our people back to health." It's a matter of respecting what we have been given: what our ancestors and land been through to bring us where we are now. Metaphorically, giving attention and support to the reintroduction of the American Bison is feeding this country a big bowl of nutritious and warming food that reminds us of goodness and our connection to the land that brought it forth, and gives us strength and vitality to make more motions that feed us instead of destroy us.

2. How would you assess "The New Pill promises to reduce breast cancer risk"?
Well, my first response, honestly, is that's great that women will be at less risk for cancer from their birthcontrol, why not put all of this effort into designing a male contraceptive? hmmmm? Reading on to the "it also stops women having periods altogether" part, I'm a bit disgusted. I realize that for some women this would be a real blessing and i greatly sympathize with those who go through such torturous periods. Of course, coming from a TCM perspective i can't help but think that this is a sign that there are some significant imbalances in their bodies that shouldn't be masked, but treated. Offering the option to any women who wants to stop her period seems sad to me, as it furthers the disconnection many women already have to their bodies. i don't want to speak for the rights any woman has to make for her own body, but i wish this kind of thing wasn't such a trend. The birth control pill, historically, has offered a lot of liberation for women, since it first being smuggled into the U.S. from France. It is encouraging that scientists are trying to limit the amount of side-effects the pill can have, but i wouldn't necessarily call it a milestone for women's health.

Ecosystems and Deep Ecology:

1. What do you think about the "8-point Deep Ecology Platform"?
I think this platform is awesome. it covers a lot of ground succinctly and soundly. I, personally, believe all that it states: the inherent worth of all life regardless of the usefulness for human purposes, that our richness relies on the diversity of our planet, that we are acting out excessively and irrationaly if we want to continue to have a planet to flourish on... When I slowed down and sat with each one of the points, i found that they hold a lot. I think it would be very useful for people to at least think about each of the 8-points, since quite often people aren't thinking this way... at all.

2. Can you explain why "ecosystems are both strong and fragile"?
Ecosystems are strong because of their diversity and each unique role that each species plays. They are fragile because they are reliant on the health and propagation of each of these species. So, when one is nurtured, they are all nurtured, and when one is threatened they are all threatened. Like a spider web, an ecosystem's strength is also in its structure, the reliance each strand holds on another to keep it taut. -- remove one strand and the entire web is weakened.

3. How would you assess the "end goals" of Social Ecology?
Social ecology "analyzes the various politcal and social institutions that people use in relationship to nature and its resources." I think that first goal of Social ecology to to assist a dialogue among people that encourages them to reflect on the various tensions that exist within our relationships to nature, ourselves, and technology. The second goal is to point to the contradictions that arise from these relationships (ie between forces of production and local ecological conditions, as well as biological and social reproduction). Social Ecology calls us to look at our government policies, social biases and discrimination, and each country's unique political economy and internal history. The end goal of this theorist movement is for people to look into the complexities wrapped up in the relationships we form to maintain our existences and realize that some are more destructive than not; the movement calls us to make changes on all levels to steer our cultures into more enlightened directions.

WK 8: Cell Biology: HIV and AIDS

1. How do I feel about western approaches to HIV/AIDS?
As with cancer, i feel very impressed with the amount of knowledge the western medical world has gained about the pathogenisis of the disease. They are dealing with an epidemic that propogates with huge mutations, so no two cases are exactly the same (i would guess). i think this is probably where my critique of the western approach comes in: that many individuals, despite their natural constitution, series of symptoms, or stage of illness are treated with the same cocktail of drugs and treatment (i'm sure a lot of medications are taken out and added in, but still they are dealing with a set of "HIV/AIDS" drugs that often cause crazy side-effects and don't truly "work" with the individual). same as usual, a non-holistic approach to a virus that effects each body differently....

2. Can TCM strengthen our immune system?
I think yes, definitely yes! This is one of the beautiful things that it does is strengthen our system to be able to combat exterior pathogens and not allow them to enter deeper layers. If people used TCM more often in this preventative way, instead of only running to their acupuncturist when they are sick, I think the true benefits can really been felt and seen.

3. The "Deal that Saved the Whales":
I loved reading this article. It sparked my own interest in the ideas of eco-tourism and made me happy to hear that locals of Baja are stepping up to not see their land raped and pileged like so many other locations that attract people becuase of its beauty. I think that it is very important to look at the cycles of nature that we are effected with capitalist growth and development. Breaking such cycles like the pregnant grey whales' amazing migration could down the line be a sign of real destruction of our own. The farther we separate ourselves from the web that holds us together and make decisions that completely disregard other life, in the end, the weaker we truly become. (I'm sure there are plenty of people out there that disagree with this and measure our success in terms of money and power only). It is important for people who feel a tie to their community to stand up for it, like the group Pro Natura, and take responsibility for bringing prosperity to peoples' lives without destroying the Nature that they live besides.

WK 7:

1. How sophisticated is our understanding of cancer?
It seems to me, that "our" understanding of cancer is quite sophisticated, but that there are still a lot of mysteries to be solved. I am very impressed with how much time many scientists have dedicated to working with cancer and understanding it more and more. this is essential. it seems so daunting considering the amount of different kinds of cancers and all of the various causes and manifestations. While their understanding is sophisticated in many ways, it seems that there is still so much to be discovered-- people are still dying of cancer every day, so clearly our knowledge of how to prevent cancer is limited.

2. How does TCM approach to cancer differ?
Well, first of all, "cancer" doesn't really exist as such in chinese medicine. rather than thinking about the mutation of genes, for instance, i think that TCM practitioners would refer to the (chinese) organs and channels that are being effected. i would, honestly, like to learn more about how acupuncturists are handling patients with cancer and what they consider cancer to be. i know that legally we can't treat it, but we can make substanctial strides in battling the side-effects of western treatments (like chemo) that destroy much of the healthy body as well as the disease. If an acupunturist did, in fact, intend on confronting the cancer itself, their approach would take the entire body into consideration, not just the parts being attacked. I would think that the strength would be called upon all of the vital substances, fluids, and forces in the body to re-establish balance, therefore doing away with the extreme imbalance that is awry. Overall, i think TCM is more about "reconfiguring" what we already have, maybe boosting it along the way, where as Western approaches are often about killing the attacker with outside forces, leaving the body to cope with the repair.

3. Are out genes still being shaped by natural selection?
I dont' see why they wouldn't be. If natural selection didn't still exist (even in regard to humans) than evolution would be a thing of the past, and it is most definitely a thing of the present and future, as well. Evolution is the force of the Wheel, if it diffused, the Wheel would stop turning and all life would cease. it sounds dramatic, i know, but i basically, i don't think that you can take the evolution out of Life, it's our common purpose. Bluntly, i think that any consideration that human evolution may have stopped is absurd.

WK 6:

How do you distinguish between living and nonliving systems?
I think of non-living systems as static: not involving digestion,
growth, or reproduction. i think a living system must exist of cellular structures that are replicating and adapting. yes, there should be some "pattern of organization" that maintaines both the structural and funcational characteristics
of the cell-based components. almost everything in this world is alive! i would argue that even some things that are not cellular-- like basic molecules are alive in some way because they contain Energy and can react with one another. some, like hydrogen and oxygen are necessary for human life to persist, so in an essence aren't some combination of molecules living systems?

What so you feel is the significance of the use of language and tools in chimps?
I think that it can be a reflection for us to understand the learning process of humans more. Becuase of the human ego, i think that we often place our process above other species'. these experiments give us a chance to see that some of our
traits are not necesarily limited to "human traits," but apply to some other animals, as well. by practicing teaching/learning techniques with chimps, we may receive some insight into better ways to reach people.

Hmmm.... tough problems 'best left to the unconcious mind'?
Sometimes i come up with the best solution or answer to a problem (be it emotional or mathematical) if i work with the fist thing that popped into my head. i think that there is a synthesis that is done in my brain when i first hear of a challenge or question, before i've conciously thought about it. often we might recognize this for a split second and then instantly start filling our minds with this and that possibility until it's too hard to even tell what our 'intuition' might be telling us. This is not to say that it is not a good idea to really sit with some problems... often answers come with time, no? but, i don't think that we should rule out that calm voice that knows the answer before we complicate things. Certainly, our brains hold all of the information that we've ever learned, and although much of it often feels non-accessible, we should trust our instincts that perhaps we know what we're talking about more often than we think.

I DO ALWAYS eat my broccoli!!

i love it. it is so delicious like little trees packed with goodness. broccoli cleanses my body and regenerates my health with each bite. it like is lightly steamed with tahini dressing, or in an egg sramble, on top of pasta, or when i'm feeling in the mood for a real decadent treat: with a sharp cheddar cheese sauce made with milk, butter, salt and pepper. yu-uuuuuuuum. (i wasn't raised eating the stem of the broccoli plant and now i know it is NOT to go to waste-- so tasty.)

WK 5: Which came first the chicken or the egg?

This article convinced me: it was the egg. the chicken born from the egg was certainly created by two chicken-like birds, but not fully (genetically speaking) what we call chickens. The riddle is solved as far as i'm concerned.

WK 5: Can diversification save species?

yes, i think that it can. when there is more diversification, be it plant or animal, there is less riding on the proliferation of one sub-species. you can think of this in terms of birds searching for a habitat: if different sub-species breed and live in different and specific habitats than if one of those was wiped out, by natural disaster or urban sprawl, you're not talking about an entire species being wiped out, but one sub-species. in terms of capitalism, putting all of your eggs in one basket, or having all of your investment to ride one sub-species, or strand, can cause a huge problem, when that "money-crop" gives up on you for some reason. i think that diversification creates a stronger web of life.

WK 4: How do I think that chimps and humans diverged as species?

I really don't know. it's seems very technical, being based on genes over 6 and 7 millions years old. it makes sense to me that some geneticists are considering that what was once considered to emphatically be the earliest start to the hominid line could now be from "a kind of dead-end tribe combining both pre-human and pre-chimp genes," being that interbreeding continued while the two species "began separating from their common ancestors."

WK 4: Can we raise our dopamine levels ourselves?

Hmmm... i haven't thought of my happiness in terms of dopamine very often, but i am very interested in hormones and how they play a major part in the ups and downs of our daily lives-- actually, i don't think we can separate them from our emotional (or many other) experiences, as they are the triggers for most of the reactions in our body. definitely, definitely we can raise our levels of dopamine ourselves by really enjoying life-- soaking things in and allowing our spirits to be lifted by a beautiful sight or connection or activity. Wikipedia talks about dopamine being a neurohormone that is responsible for many other chemical reactions in the body that help induce congniton, motivation, attention, and pleasure. it makes me wonder how many other processes in a person's body could be strengthened if they were happier more often.

WK 4: Is there a drug around for everything?

it sure is beginning to appear that way. talk about only treating the stem of the problem and not the root: many pharmaceutical advertisements (should drugs have advertisements in the first place? on TV, much less-- not just medical magazines, or something) ask questions like "do you ever feel down? like people don't understand you? unhappy? or anxious?" all of these are real problems that many of us deal with-- and certainly i think people should be able to seek out help when they feel like they are in a rut or feeling bad about life. but, how many times are these pills being prescribed to people without encouraging them to 1)change some important patterns in their lives that might be making them unhappy 2) to talk to friends and/or therapists about their problems 3) to take up an exercise regime like qi gong or yoga that can teach them to calm their minds or find peace in a moment? that's just it, for the MOST part, not all of the time (as some prescriptions can be used in a way that works along with a process of self-discovery and disipline), taking pharmaceuticals to "fix" the problem doesn't TEACH anyone anything about the root of their anxiety or depression. It is unfortunate that some people are moving farther aways from truly knowing themselves by grabbing on the hip and trendy drugs that they first saw on some advertisement during their favorite prime time TV sidcom.

Everyone should read this book. it's awesome and offers a fantastical and futuristic look into what could happen if the perfect human with the perfect traits was sought out. Easy to read with some beautiful imagery and a female "superhuman" protagonist.

WK3: 1b: Proaktyotes, Eukaryotes & Viruses Tutorial

"THE BIOLOGY PROJECT" looks like a great site to get the low-down on various biology topics that may come to mind. The "If you were a bacteria" piece that we read in class was well done. Sometimes it's easier to see facts laid out in a 1st or 2nd person kind of way, to flip your perspective-- in this case, imagining that we are taking on the traits of a bacteria and, essentially, ruling the world.

P.S. check out: loxosceles.org on how to knit your own bacteria!

WK3: 1a: 99.4% of the most critical DNA sites are identical in human and chimp genes

This is incredible. I love thinking that we have so much in common, genetically, with a species that many people put us so far away from-- being that they are "primates" and we are "civilized." There are obviously differences between us, but why not bring us together under the same umbrella genus? We are related, no doubt about it now. Do we really need to be able to put ourselves on a pedestal above our ancestors?
I am curious, though: is this how all umbrella geniuses are determined-- through genetics? or is it a combination of observed traits, as well? does the same go for plants and all animals? what did they do before they were able to observe genetic makeups?

WK2: How does Darwanism matter to me?

Well, when I first heard of evolution (i wish i could remember exactly when that was!) i imagine that Darwin was referred to in the same breath. It seems that he is esteemed as the grandfather of evolutionary thought. Being that i went to Catholic school most of my life, i doubt that i learned much more about darwin than this. So, it is not until later in my life that i have begun to learn more about this man. Although, I'm sure that the concept of evolution was pondered much before this one man and by people of various cultures, his theories have stuck around and given birth to the amazing discoveries of our evolution/devolution. I like reading about darwin. I'd like to know more about him. he obviously had a passion for the life that he was observing, and while he put humans at the top of the evolutionary scale (the "fittest" of the bunch), i appreciate his recognition of the overall "grandeur" of it all.

Wk 2: Evo-Devo

"This means that in some sense, evolution is a simpler process than we first thought..... (rather than) starting from scratch, again and again.... We now unsderstand that, no, evolution works with packets of information and uses them in new and different ways, in new and different combinations, without having to invent anything fundamentally new..."

One of the things that this quote is referring to is the extremely high percentage of matching genomes between one species and the next, be it chimps, mice, or humans. It seems that one gene-cluster mutation can cause a string of changed characteristics, as in the case of the homeotic mutation of the fruit fly mentioned. Mutuations can "act as master regulators that choose between alternate developmental fates." But, when you get to the heart of the matter, ie. the genes, there may only be one small difference.

I can see the benefit of going to the base of all of the branches of variablity... working backwards, or devolving, in order to understand the current development of a species.