tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1089181115587657022024-02-08T02:32:06.789-08:00Embryonic ConceptsJ.A. Gibbonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14407779832835087781noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-108918111558765702.post-37757424030725205392013-02-02T16:43:00.003-08:002013-02-02T16:44:01.080-08:00 “Not Again!” Op-Ed: I.A. Jeppson, MD<style type="text/css">
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<span style="font-size: small;">I have never been comfortable about making inferences
about people’s subconscious motives, but my life experience makes
me believe that the reason people give for opposing something is
often not the real reason at all. I first noticed this when I got
caught up in a situation precipitated by my research. </span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> I had always been of the opinion that being honest with
patients was important to maintaining trust. After all if we started
lying whenever it was convenient (even if it was to the benefit of
the patient) confidence in medical practitioners would decline and
patients would think we told lies to make money. But I was working
with patients who wouldn’t remember if I had lied to them. I
reasoned to myself that in this situation being honest with the
patient's family was really what was important, and this could end
up helping not only the patients directly affected, but everyone.
Still what I was about to do was nothing more than an elaborate ruse;
at least as far as the patient was concerned.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> However, the results of that experiment and those that
followed steeled my resolve that this was something that needed to be
implemented at every hospital and assisted living home. My enthusiasm
spread quickly among my colleagues and the insurance companies agreed
to pay for it, but there was a public backlash. My university was
shutdown for a day when what was suppose to be a protest turned into
a riot. Amid cries of “MY MOTHER DESERVES BETTER!” and “PEOPLE
BEFORE PROFIT!” ten people had to be hospitalized and one was
killed. After that I was not surprised when the death threats
started coming. </span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> The
uproar that ensued even led to congressional hearings and proposed
legislation banning the therapy. I ended up subpoenaed before
congress and reluctantly subjected myself to the talking heads on
television where I was called a cold-hearted scientist that couldn’t
understand what it meant to be human, or that only someone with a
financial interest could advocate such a thing. After media
investigations found no evidence that I had any business ties to the
robotics industry, and that I was not being paid to lobby for the
insurance industry the matter was dropped, but not rectified. </span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> Those
who wanted my medical license revoked remained resilient. I could
empathize with the people that were uncomfortable with the use of
robots to trick patients into thinking that they were interacting
with a human, but their outrage was only outmatched by their
irrationality. Instead of looking at the matter at hand, the patients
and their families, my personal life was scoured for anything that
could discredit me. They somehow figured out that someone I had a
physics class with in college (we hadn’t been in contact since)
owned a robotics company. I was even called a racist because the
robot used in my research was named Roberta (the inventor named it
after his mother). The more reasonable opponents stated that all we
really needed was to get people to come and spend time with people
with dementia. But of course nobody wanted to pay for it and not many
were willing to volunteer their time to do it. Not that I can blame
anyone for not wanting to. </span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">As an
undergrad volunteering with dementia patients I saw the worst things
I’d ever seen; mothers drowning in anxiety and depression because
they cannot recall their children's names, people begging their long
since deceased parents to come free them (the patients had to be
restrained to the bed). Despite how widespread dementia was most
people still had no direct experience with it. The only reason this
therapy was not banned was because of the support of patients'
families and even patients in the early stages of dementia. They
understood that even with video chat their loved ones could not
always have somebody with them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> The critics were correct about some things. The
sitter-bots did not have souls and they had no empathy, but they were
very good imitators. Before the bodies themselves were built the
sitter-bot was nothing more than software that could talk to patients
via an intercom. The results were incredible; all measures of anxiety
plummeted, the rate of memory loss decreased. It appeared that
having someone to interact with protected the brain from the still
murky forces ravaging it. The rate of convalescence accelerated,
enabling patients to be discharged from the hospital quicker. In a
later study where games were introduced via a tablet computer the
results were even more dramatic. Sitter-bot could continue conversing
with the patient while playing the games and could even converse
about the game itself; engaging in friendly trash talk and displaying
mock anger when defeated. Through the games Sitter-bot could even
identify cognitive weak spots and trends in cognitive decline. This
data proved useful clinically and for further research. Soon
Sitter-bots where developed that change game strategy to aid the
patient therapeutically.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> It was a shock to people that had never interacted with
individuals with dementia that many patients came to believe that
Sitter-bot was an old friend that they had known for years (often
after just a few minutes of interaction). For instance, a patient of
mine named his sitter-bot Evelyn and when he introduced Evelyn to
his wife she became enraged and assaulted the tablet computer the
sitter-bot avatar was on. I latter learned through the hospital's
lawyer that Evelyn had been the name of the gentleman’s first wife.
It became necessary to prep family and friends for the possible “side
effects” of sitter-bot. </span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> The improved moods of the patients were also reflected
in their family members. All objective measures of stress decreased
and from my own subjective experience with the families they seemed
much more at ease. I wouldn’t go as far as to say they were happy,
after all their loved one was slowly slipping away from them, but the
situation was now less painful.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The
loudest critics were those who worked in health-care. It is an open
secret that much of the concern was about their jobs being replaced
by robots and this was the litmus test. If a robot could be used to
treat mental health, why couldn’t one wipe a butt, give a shot, or
take a blood sample. Indeed all of these things eventually happened.
I too felt anxiety about my own future caused by the exponential
march of artificial intelligence and robotics, but when I look at the
positive contributions these have made toward patients whatever
befalls me is worth it. If we oppose a technology that can aid a
patient because it will do us financial harm we are no longer
healers. I am a firm believer that one should not waste their energy
fighting the inevitable. I know from personal experience, when robots
started being used to diagnose and treat common mild diseases, but
one must prepare for the future. This needs to be recognized not just
within health-care, but in society in general.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> The transition to the use of robots in health-care may
not have been seamless, but today you would be hard-pressed to find
someone who would want to go back to the old ways. I am old enough to
remember a time before autonomous cars. Young people today can not
fathom how allowing individuals complete control over the movement
of their cars was once considered an acceptable risk. Indeed, it does
now seem absurd that we once preferred having a person operating an
object that weighed a ton moving at 80 mph. Or how doctors once
thought washing their hands before seeing a patient was a waste of
time, because they had never done it before. That appears to be the
nature of change, everyone bemoans it when it’s happening, but
cannot imagine going back to the old ways once it’s done. I am of
the opinion that health-care is at another one of these junctures. </span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> The pharmaceutical industry entered its most profitable
era after a consortium of the industry's biggest players developed an
artificial intelligence software capable of scanning an isolated
pathogen or molecular defect and then design a therapeutic. They
split up the areas of manufacture based upon their respective
strengths. This breakthrough should have heralded in a new age of
personalized medicine; in a sense it did by taking into account a
limited set of genomic information. The industry quickly developed a
series of blockbuster drugs that they could control the manufacture
of. </span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> When
the technology reached it’s limits instead of trying to improve it,
resources were diverted to the legal, lobbying and marketing
departments. Those who improved upon the technology were held up in
court or sued into non-existence. Lobbyist insured that the patent
office saw things from big pharma’s point of view. The marketers
were needed for the few instances where a rival therapy made it
through the gauntlet of lawyers and lobbyists. With their patents now
about to expire the industry is feverishly attempting to have the
laws re-written to protect their monopoly. </span>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Now
that their software is about to become opened sourced they fear
improvements beyond their control will be made to it; allowing others
to make a profit. They fear that improvements in technology have made
it possible for drugs to be manufactured locally, on demand. Despite,
the fact that this technology is by any measurable standard safe and
dependable, big pharama is lobbying to have it outlawed; all in the
interest of “patient safety”. As a society we should not succumb
to the fear campaign of the pharmaceuticals industry. They may have
convinced themselves that ‘thousands upon thousands’ will die if
others are allowed to design and manufacture therapeutics, but the
only evidence they have for this claim is their own motivated
reasoning. </span>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> We live in a world where information is the
infrastructure, and information changes rapidly. Never before has
humanity lived in a world where the underlying structure that
dictates how we survive can change so fluidly. It is hard to know
which direction is forward, and as a society we must learn to be more
accepting of the fact that many people will find themselves on a path
that is no longer viable. If change is no longer seen as something
menacing than the transitory periods will be less painful. Someone
else's gain will not be another’s ruin and we can have an honest
conversation, as a society, about the possible costs and benefits of
the change in question. Those of us who work in health-care can
become the paragon of this new paradigm. We can start by not letting
our colleagues in the pharmaceutical industry fool themselves into
thinking that they are now representing the best interests of
patients. Not only are they not helping patients but they are also
doing themselves a disservice. There was a time when we were
reluctant to wash our hands to protect patients from infection, now
we must get used to washing our hands of the past if we are to
protect patients from ourselves. </span>
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J.A. Gibbonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14407779832835087781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-108918111558765702.post-86785228510444354572011-08-21T14:56:00.000-07:002011-08-21T14:56:54.234-07:00GOP Primary: Why Views on Evolutionary Theory Matter<br />
<div style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rick Perry’s recent remarks regrading evolutionary theory has drawn media attention to his support of intelligent design. In response, Kevin D. Williamson of the National Review </span><a href="http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/275093/rick-perry-pushes-their-buttons-kevin-d-williamson"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">argues </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">that politicians views on matters scientific are irrelevant. No one expects a politician to have knowledge of the esoteric debates & competing hypothesis within evolutionary theory anymore then they would expect them to have a working knowledge of econometrics or input-out-put analysis. However, it would be disturbing if a front runner for the presidency did not understand the concept of supply & demand. With the U.S. quickly becoming an information economy to have our leader not have a basic grasp of what constitutes a science & what constitutes philosophy is disturbing. Science is simply empiricism--the observation of nature. It may not seem that impressive, but it has done more to benefit humanity then any other school of thought. And to dismiss a candidates views on it is misguided. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Frankly, I find Perry’s admission that he does not believe in evolutionary theory more disturbing then if he had simply said it was not something he had looked into. At least then there is the possibility that provided with the relevant scientific data he could draw a correct conclusion, but by taking a stand on the issue Perry is stating that he’s looked at the relevant data and came to the wrong conclusion. In fact, he even studied a science in college, but apparently it did not stick with him. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A good leader can not be an expert on every subject. A good leader knows when and where to seek council & to whom to delegate authority. The fact that he flat out rejects a </span><a href="http://sandwalk.blogspot.com/2011/08/evolution-is-fact-and-theory.html"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">fact & a theory</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> that has been established for over 100 years calls into question his sources of information & the people he keeps around him. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">My criticism has perhaps been aimed a little too much at Perry. Indeed, most of the candidates have shown their ignorance to science. The only candidate that has not is Jon Huntsman. Here is Jon Huntsman defending science in his own words: </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEFBoNCbRnA"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEFBoNCbRnA </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">J.A. Gibbons</span></div>J.A. Gibbonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14407779832835087781noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-108918111558765702.post-7772305929285615352011-08-15T11:02:00.000-07:002011-08-15T11:04:12.720-07:00The Indomitable Antiviral:<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A </span><a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0022572"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">paper </span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">has recently published in PLoS ONE detailing a new antiviral that has the potential to cure any viral infection that is caused by a virus that produces dsRNA. The new antiviral has been shown effective against 15 different viruses among them the author notes </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #303030; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">dengue </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">flavivirus, Amapari and Tacaribe arenaviruses, Guama bunyavirus, and H1N1 influenza. All signs point to the virus being nontoxic.</span><br />
<div style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #303030; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What really caught my attention though is a statement in the MIT press release:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #303030; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Karla Kirkegaard, professor of microbiology and immunology at Stanford University [said] “Viruses are pretty good at developing resistance to things we try against them, but in this case, it’s hard to think of a simple pathway to drug resistance.” </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why is it hard to image a pathway for resistance? The antiviral is a combination of two protein domains one from an interferon pathway and the other from an apoptosis pathway. The “PKA dsRNA binding motif” is the domain from the interferon pathway & the second domain is a </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #303030; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">procaspase for initiating apoptosis. Both of these domains do not become active until late in the immune response &</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">most viral defenses act early in the immune pathway so presumably viruses do not have inhibitors for the binding motifs or most procaspases. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Viruses have been under more selective pressure to prevent the activation of PKA and procaspases then to inhibit them once they have been activated. This is due to the signaling cascades typical of cellular signaling. The sooner it acts in the cascade the fewer the inhibitors it must manufacture. Even if the viruses evolve an inhibitor for the binding motif or procaspases, since the antiviral appears to be non-toxic it could be applied in dosages capable of overwhelming the inhibitors. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<h1 dir="ltr"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">P.S. </span></span></h1><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">While looking into this matter I found an </span><a href="http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/content/26/9/2041.full?maxtoshow=&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=Viral+drug+resistance&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">interesting paper</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by some researchers who thought that they had come up with an antiviral that viruses could not evolve resistance to only to discover that they were wrong. They offer some insights into what went wrong and the characteristics they believe are required for an evolution proof cure. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">J.A. Gibbons</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">References: </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Broad-Spectrum Antiviral Therapeutics. Todd H. Rider</span><a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0022572#cor1"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">*</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, Christina E. Zook, Tara L. Boettcher, Scott T. Wick, Jennifer S. Pancoast, Benjamin D. Zusman. </span><a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0022572"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0022572</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #333333; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<h1 dir="ltr"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Anne Trafton, MIT News Office. August 10, 2011. New drug could cure nearly any viral infection. </span><a href="http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2011/antiviral-0810.html"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2011/antiviral-0810.html</span></a></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></h1><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">V</span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">iral Resistance Evolution Fully Escapes a Rationally Designed Lethal Inhibitor. Thomas E. Keller, Ian J. Molineux, Ian J. Molineux.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Molecular Biology and Evolution. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333300; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">First published online: June 3, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2009 </span><a href="http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/content/26/9/2041.full?maxtoshow=&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=Viral+drug+resistance&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">http://mbe.oxfordjournals.org/content/26/9/2041.full?maxtoshow=&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=Viral+drug+resistance&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&resourcetype=HWCIT</span></a></div>J.A. Gibbonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14407779832835087781noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-108918111558765702.post-35487117188474499622011-08-01T11:46:00.000-07:002011-08-08T10:48:30.666-07:00Future of Infection Fighting<div style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Current antibiotics are fast becoming useless with few new ones in the pipeline. All is not lost though, there is much research going into finding alternatives. One of these alternatives is the old fashioned way of fighting infections. Before the discovery of effective and relatively safe antibiotics doctors often relied on what was called ‘antiserum’. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Antiserum was made by filtering out the cells and clotting factors from blood and leaving the antibodies. The blood was usually obtained from horses that had been infected with the agent (or agents) that the antiserum was desired for. Though the source of the blood varied and whenever possible an animal that was not affected by the pathogen was used because they could receive high levels of the infecting agent without becoming ill and thus produce more antiserum. Antiserum was also obtained from people who had either recovered from the illness or were vaccinated against it.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As of 1921 the effectiveness of antisera varied greatly</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 6.6pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super; white-space: pre-wrap;">1</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Since in most cases how exactly the antiserum worked was unknown it is impossible to make a conclusion for why this was so and whether or not it can be improved upon. It was believed at the time that one possible reason was that the antiserum was only effective against specific strains of a pathogen. Support for this theory came from the fact that when it was possible to identity a specific strain and provide an antiserum for that strain mortality was greatly reduced (compared to just giving one antiserum for all cases). Additionally, the effectiveness of various antisera varied from region and outbreaks. The fewer strains of a pathogen found the more likely the antiserum would be effective. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Finding the source and solutions to the variable effectiveness of past antisera is critical in today's world were someone could become infected with a pathogen in New York but not show symptoms until in Hong Kong. If that pathogen is not common in Hong Kong the local doctors will not be able to aid that individual. Luckily, research and use of antisera did not stop completely with the use of antibiotics. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Today antiserum is still used and goes by the name immunoglobulin therapy. Currently used mainly for autoimmune, immunodeficiency or inflammatory diseases</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 6.6pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super; white-space: pre-wrap;">2</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Today the antibodies are obtained from people who have been vaccinated. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Clinicians also depend upon antisera to fight many viral infections. Antisera is currently the recommended treatment for human rabies</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 6.6pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super; white-space: pre-wrap;">3</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and is used to fight Hepatitis B infections</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 6.6pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super; white-space: pre-wrap;">4</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Researchers have recently discovered a possible universal vaccine for ‘influenza A’ and possibly a way to fight an existing ‘influenza A’ infection by studying the antibodies produced by those previously infected with influenza or vaccinated</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 6.6pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super; white-space: pre-wrap;">5</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One thing is certain. Fighting bacterial infections in the future will be more expensive. Monitoring bacterial infections in the population will become more critical to ensure the proper antisera are available in sufficient quantities.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Though more expensive there are advantages to using antisera. One, pathogens will not be able to develop resistance to the antisera. Two, if the use of antisera against viruses is any indication there should be fewer adverse effects from disrupting local beneficial bacteria</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 6.6pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super; white-space: pre-wrap;">6</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Even if bacteria where not developing resistance faster then we can find new antibiotics there use is bound to become outdated. Physicians prescribe as narrow an antibiotic as possible but it is impossible to not end up harming helpful bacteria and antibiotic use has been linked to numerous health problems resulting form the disruption of bacterial flora. In the future it will be possible to scan an isolated pathogen and have a computer design and manufacture an inhibitor. As with the example of ‘Influenza A’ research for the design of these computer generated inhibitors will be informed by the mechanisms of effective antisera. The technology already exists to determine if a molecule is a likely toxin</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 6.6pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: super; white-space: pre-wrap;">7,8</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.Eventually, production will cease to be centralized as the technology becomes cheaper allowing for more local control and production of more efficient antibodies for every situation.</span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br />
</span></span></div><div style="background-color: transparent;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">J.A. Gibbons</span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">References:</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">1. </span><a href="http://books.google.com/ebooks?id=n2YaAAAAIAAJ&dq=Principles%20of%20immunology&as_brr=5&ei=MtU1Ts2KKM_qUOL92IoM&source=webstore_bookcard"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Principles of immunology.</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Howard Thomas Karsner. J.B. Lippincott Co., 1921 </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2. </span><a href="http://www.med.nyu.edu/content?ChunkIID=220843"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Current uses of immunoglobulin therapy and side effects</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">3. </span><a href="http://www.cdc.gov/rabies/medical_care/index.html"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CDC on rabies</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">4. </span><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18847315"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hepatitis B immune globulin and HBV-related liver transplantation</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 9pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Akay S, Karasu Z. Expert Opinion on Biological Therapy. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 8pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">2008 Nov;8(11):1815-22.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">5. </span><a href="http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110728/full/news.2011.447.html"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">One antibody to bind them all.</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #363636; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Marian Turner</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #363636; font-family: Verdana; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Nature News. 28 July 2011.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">6. </span><a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21775205"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At least it won't hurt: the personal risks of antibiotic exposure</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 13pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Stewardson AJ, Huttner B, Harbarth S.</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Curr Opin Pharmacol. 2011 Jul 18.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">7. </span><a href="http://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2011/GC/c1gc15651a"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Towards rational molecular design: derivation of property guidelines for reduced acute aquatic toxicity.</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Adelina M. Voutchkova, Jakub Kostal, Justin B. Steinfeld, John W. Emerson, Bryan W. Brooks, Paul Anastas and Julie B. Zimmerman </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Green Chem., 2011, Advance Article DOI: 10.1039/C1GC15651A </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">8. </span><a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040402009016925"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000099; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Toward molecular design for hazard reduction—fundamental relationships between chemical properties and toxicity</span></a><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Adelina M. Voutchkovaa, Lori A. Ferrisb, Julie B. Zimmermanb, c and Paul T. Anastas. Volume 66, Issue 5, 30 January 2010, Pages 1031-1039.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Advances in Green Chemistry</span></div>J.A. Gibbonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14407779832835087781noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-108918111558765702.post-36815856184954578402011-07-25T09:32:00.000-07:002011-08-09T10:49:11.145-07:00Environmental Policy: Why Don't We Tax Pollution?<span id="internal-source-marker_0.02028289189160326" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Switching taxation from income to pollution seems like the most obvious solution to most if not all environmental problems. After all it is widely acknowledged that if you want people to do less of something you tax it. The existence of sin taxes attest to the fact that policy makers agree that taxes inhibit undesired behavior in individuals. One of the main benefits to taxing pollution is that it can be applied to everyone equally, so that the government does not have to pick winners and losers as it does with current regulations and subsidies. The reasons that we do not tax pollution can be broken down into two categories: the practical and the political.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Practically speaking it is hard to put a price on the damage that pollution does and hence at what rate to tax it. However, even a rough estimate (and most likely an underestimate) would still give individuals and corporations an incentive to reduce their environmental foot print by finally putting a price tag on it. Additionally, implementing the tax would be no different from the common practice of taxing consumption except the tax rates would be based off environmental costs. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I suspect that the reason there is no serious debate in the United States about switching the tax burden from income to pollution is because politicians are boxed in by what they know. Both parties find taxing income a politically convenient way of rallying their bases. Democrats like to argue that we should only tax the wealthy and Republicans fighting taxation altogether. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">However, it seems to me that Republicans would have the most to gain from promoting taxing pollution. It would play right into their narrative of not punishing hard work and ingenuity. I suspect that if Republicans could break their pathological aversion (and special interest pressure) to not tax anything they could gain a lot of mileage out of portraying Democrats as more willing to tax hard work and innovation then promoting a healthy environment.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">J.A. Gibbons </span>J.A. Gibbonshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14407779832835087781noreply@blogger.com1