Peter's Place

I recently posted an article to my blog about a recent breakthrough in HIV research --the discovery of the TRIM22 gene in humans, and linked to it from an article on my Gather.com account . Unfortunately, a number of the responses to the post on my Gather account were somewhat negative, along the lines of "[yawn] We've heard of this before its nothing new." Take, for instance, one of these comments : old news, this has been out and about for a year now! and Even though this has been around for a little while (as so rudely mentioned early in the comments) it will still be kept relatively quiet until the pharmaceutical companies find ways they can cash in on it. I even had a few friends who read my blog post IM me that the cure for HIV/AIDS exists but is being blocked either by the US Government or various pharmaceutical interests. After receiving this sort of a response to my post and the information contained therein, I went on the 'net and...

I posted this over on my Gather.com account: Here's a sneak preview but you should really go over there and read the full article : Over and over, governments around the world are recognising that this is not a matter of religion, virtue, tradition, and the like but rather it is a simple matter of equality, fairness, and civil rights. All around the world, foreign governments are recognizing the validity of same-sex relationships . * * * * * From the article: Victoria to recognise gay couples Paul Austin and David Rood March 13, 2008 GAY and de facto couples will be able to formally register their relationships in Victoria after the Legislative Assembly last night passed historic legislation that split the Coalition. Liberal leader Ted Baillieu supported the Government bill, which will allow couples to record their relationships with the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriage. Read my full post on Gather.com now!

This is the announcement we've all been waiting for . From the article: A team of researchers at the University of Alberta has discovered a gene that is able to block HIV, and in turn prevent the onset of AIDS. Stephen Barr, a molecular virologist in the Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, says his team has identified a gene called TRIM22 that can block HIV infection in a cell culture by preventing the assembly of the virus. "When we put this gene in cells, it prevents the assembly of the HIV virus," said Barr, a postdoctoral fellow. "This means the virus cannot get out of the cells to infect other cells, thereby blocking the spread of the virus." Barr and his team also prevented cells from turning on TRIM22 - provoking an interesting phenomenon: the normal response of interferon, a protein that co-ordinates attacks against viral infections, became useless at blocking HIV infection. "This means that TRIM22 is an essential part of our body...

Well by now the blogosphere is filled with articles and opinions and what not about the revelation of New York State Governor Elliot Spitzer being linked to a high-priced (at $5,500/hour , I would nominate this description as understatement of the year) prostitution ring that was recently busted by United States federal authorities . Take, for instance, this latest piece by The New York Times : The idea that Gov. Eliot Spitzer — the square-jawed crusader who promised to bring ethics to Albany, the former prosecutor who chased corruption on Wall Street so ferociously that people nicknamed him Eliot Ness — was somehow involved in a prostitution scandal was too much. New Yorkers who thought they had heard everything were, for a change, dumbfounded. They had trouble folding their minds around what law enforcement officials said was contained in a federal affidavit — that Mr. Spitzer, identified only as “Client 9,” had arranged for a high-priced prostitute to meet him in Washington on the ...