Received: by alpheratz.cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk id VAA15315 (8.6.9/5.3[ref pg@gmsl.co.uk] for cpm.aca.mmu.ac.uk from fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk); Fri, 24 Nov 2000 21:58:08 GMT Date: Fri, 24 Nov 2000 13:54:41 -0800 Message-Id: <200011242154.NAA23913@mail19.bigmailbox.com> Content-Type: text/plain Content-Disposition: inline Content-Transfer-Encoding: binary X-Mailer: MIME-tools 4.104 (Entity 4.116) X-Originating-Ip: [209.240.200.158] From: "Scott Chase" <hemidactylus@my-deja.com> To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk Subject: Re: religion/spirituality Sender: fmb-majordomo@mmu.ac.uk Precedence: bulk Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk('binary' encoding is not supported, stored as-is)
>From: "Matthew Moore" <ticking_fool@yahoo.com>
>To: <memetics@mmu.ac.uk>
>Subject: Re: religion/spirituality
>Date: Wed, 22 Nov 2000 09:36:42 -0000
>Reply-To: memetics@mmu.ac.uk
>
>> But is that really a fair analogy? Pathogens can suddenly
>become airborne,
>> the best example is the evolution of airborne pneumonic
>plague from the
>> non-airborne bubonic variety, and also syphilis changed
>from a surface
>> contact skin disease to the genito-urinary route. AIDS
>has only been in
>> humans for some few decades, so it's a very young virus.
>Judaism has been
>> around for several millenia (and 2.5 millenia in its
>modern form). Surely,
>> if the viral model really applies to religions, somewhere
>in that vast time
>> span the requisite change would have taken place?
>>
>Perhaps that just means that the requisite change was to
>Christianity.
>
>
Though marginally related to the above, this makes me think of how the general public fails to distinguish between a virus and bacterium. For instance plague is caused by a bacterium *Yersina pestis* and so is syphilis (by the spirochete *Treponema pallidum*). As a brief aside the tick-borne Lyme disease is also caused by a spirochete. Not that any distinctions weren't made here, but this does click in my memory for a pet peeve. I recall when the bacterial strain which can lead to necrotizing fascitis (sp.?) was discussed on the local news, the reporters often said it was a flesh eating virus.
Strep throat is caused by a *Streptococcus*. Interestingly a bacterial virus (or bacteriophage) I think contributes to scarlet fever as it infects an infecting strep bacterium. These are all vague recollections from an introductory microbiology course I took plus looking in my dictionary and micro text. It wouldn't take much to exhaust my knowledge base for microbiology and epidemiology.
One aspect of this general confusion between pathogens, besides press sensationalism quirks, is that people not making a crucial distinction between bacteria (which can be treated by standard antibiotics if not resistant) and virii leads people to the doctor for a viral cold and they tend to ask for antibiotics which won't do much if anything except select for resistant bacterial strains and possibly contribute to more public health concerns in the future.
As another aside, recent movies have really gotten people intrigued by virii. I'm sure there are now people inspired to become virus hunters by none other than Rainman himself ;-)
In the U.S. we have concerns about hanta virus which IIRC is more prevalent in the southwest around the four corners area in certain mice when certain ecological conditions predominate. It could occur in other places. IIRC there was a Discover magazine episode (on the Discovery channel?) which highlighted this and a possibility of rodents in urban areas carrying certain hanta strains. I think the virus was noticed in Korea (during the war in military people?) and named after a river there. Isn't there an "Old World" versus "New World" dichotomy as to how these strains affect people? I'm going on memory here (and also for the flesh eating virus deal so if I'm mistaken I'd appreciate some clarification).
Ebola is the biggie which induces eschatological thoughts in some people.
How long has HIV been in humans? I recall that some cases in the 50's or 60's have been retrospectively attributed to HIV. There's a plethora of memetic material to be had in the HIV/AIDS phenomenon, from the initial apathy/confusion and the hysteria and paranoia and stigmatization to all kinds of other things such as conspiracy theories and the like.
Scott
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