Remember the Andromeda Strain movie from 1971? I sure do. It was a big-deal movie at the time. It was creepy too because it combined so many things that were in the gestalt of that time → satellites, secret government doings, a virus from outer space, a small New Mexico town and an apocalyptic situation. You know, all the good stuff of nightmares at the time.
The Andromeda Strain was a virus that got to earth due to a secret US Government satellite that crashed to Earth in New Mexico resulting in all the town’s inhabitants to be killed. What killed them? They suspect that something hitched a ride on the satellite that was then opened by the local doctor which resulted in his blood becoming crystallized. (NOTE: Do not open satellites that drop from outer space in your office. I don't care what you do for a living. ALSO, don’t let them ever put any type of probe in your brain! Brain probes weren’t in the Andromeda Strain. It’s just that you never ever let them put a probe of any type in your brain. Its something to live by and I know it. That’s all.)
There were actually only two survivors. One was a 62-year-old alcoholic and the other was a 6-month-old infant. Why did they survive? Well, you’ll just have to see the movie to find out. OK, I’ll tell you. It was discovered the blood of these two was very acidic and the virus was thus unable to kill them. The alcoholic had used sterno to get drunk which made his blood acidic and the baby had been crying its head off which made it’s blood acidic due to high amounts of CO2 in its blood. That’s why they didn’t die.
Oh, it gets crazy. The virus keeps evolving. At one point it didn’t turn blood into crystals, it started eating plastic. The government decided to nuke the laboratory where the virus was now kept BUT had to suddenly not do that because they discovered nuking it would turn it into a supervirus. Well, the thing keeps mutating until, by the end of the movie, it’s not lethal anymore to animal life.
I guess the only good thing that came of it is some population control occurred. I suppose. The movie was left open-ended in that it pondered that something just as sinister could happen again in the future. Cue the creepy music score to end the movie. en.wikipedia.org/...
OK, that’s a really bastardized version of the movie. Perhaps it’s time to see it again, or for the first time if you haven’t. What made me think about the Andromeda Strain movie is the fact scientists (I still believe in them) have discovered a bacteria that makes an enzyme that dissolves plastic. This was discovered very recently in 2016 in a landfill in Japan. A bacteria has evolved to eat plastic. This could be very good news. No nukes were involved, but since it is a bacteria discovered in Japan, maybe they should name it the Godzilla bacteria.
It takes centuries for plastic to degrade naturally and there are ginormous floating islands of plastic in our oceans that are only getting bigger and more deadly by the day. Perhaps this plastic-eating bacteria can come to the rescue.
Great Pacific Garbage Patch, floating 'island' of trash in ocean, is now twice the size of Texas (www.foxnews.com/...)
Scientists accidentally produce an enzyme that devours plastic
The mutant enzyme breaks down plastic in a matter of days.
Researchers studying a newly-discovered bacterium found that with a few tweaks, the bug can be turned into a mutant enzyme that starts eating plastic in a matter of days, compared to the centuries it takes for plastic to break down in the ocean.
The surprise discovery was made when scientists began investigating the structure of a bacterium found in a waste dump in Japan. The bug produced an enzyme, which the team studied using the Diamond Light Source, an intense beam of X-rays 10 billion times brighter than the sun. At first, the enzyme looked similar to one evolved by many kinds of bacteria to break down cutin, a natural polymer used by plants as a protective layer. But after some gentle manipulation, the team actually improved its ability to eat PET (polyethylene terephthalate), the type of plastic used in drinks bottles.
www.engadget.com/...
Cool beans! Now, all we need to do is get an Andromeda Strain that removes CO2 from the atmosphere. That would be an amazing thing, wouldn’t it?
What do you want to talk about today?
RSVPS
1. idlemoments, organizer (kosmail him to connect)
2. Irna Landrum, Daily Kos Activism Staff
3. slapshoe
4. RickNelsonmn
5. mockingjay
6. norselandc
7.
MAYBEES :
Done4nau
|
Netroots Nation 2018
Puerto Rico Kos !