Naked Science Forum
Life Sciences => Physiology & Medicine => Topic started by: neilep on 24/02/2004 03:44:32
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[|)]Could there every be a cure for all diseases ?.......I can't imagine there ever would be and think it will remain in name only.....but I'm the most 'layest'[:D] of laymen and would appreciate your views on the possibility.[|)]
'Men are the same as women...just inside out !'
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Maybe it could lie in nanotechnology. Little clusters of microscopic machines that cruise around your body repairing damaged cells, fighting off intruding microbes and regulating biomolecule production. That technology is in its early infancy...expect hundreds of years before this is possible.
On a social level, we shouldn't engage in a practice like this until we learn, as a society, to regulate our reproduction. Otherwise we'll crowd ourselves into extinction.
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Thanks Jay, Words of wisdom as always.
Yep, my thoughts exactly....with the increase in population one could almost imagine a cure for old age and with our little Nano doctors running wild through our systems we could all expect a happy healthy lifespan. How would they be programmed for new emerging diseases that they have not been taught to recognize ?...do you think it would be along the lines of an injection or sitting/laying inside a RF/Magnetic chamber, or hook ourselves up to a laptop/console and download the latest virus definitions !! or are there definitive inherent signs that damaged cells display so that the bots could easily recognize and they are programmed with a blueprint of what that individuals healthy cell should be like.
I do hope as a society we are able to police ourselves with regard to reproduction because with an estimate of 100s of years before nanotecnology is a reality we are going to have to learn a way to govern and administer our conduct sooner rather than later......that's assuming we don't go and ruin the whole show and blow ourselves up by then !!...
'Men are the same as women...just inside out !'
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Maybe the little bots could do DNA analysis and just kill anything that didn't match the host or a certain set of "good guys".
Population control occurrs naturally by the economics of raising children. As it becomes more expensive (economicall disadvantagous) to raise a child, parents are less likely to have them. This may sound counter intuitive given that poor people are having lots more children than middle-class or wealthy people. However, when you look at the economics of the picture, the poorest people don't invest much in their children, while the more affluent feel compelled to buy more expensive clothing, toys, education, etc. Also, in very poor families, the children are expected to work and contribute more to the household. Children in poor families have a higher mortality rate, so it makes sense to have some extras for backup. And finally, children in poor families are the only "infirmity insurance" the parents have, so they have more children to assure there will be someone to take care of them in later life.
I'm going to change my signature to "John - The Eternal Pessimist"
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John
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Join the club John !!......I'm pessimistic by nature, I think subconsciously I use it as a defence mechanism.......shocking but so unfortunately realistic to believe that in poorer countries children are seen as "infirmity insurance" and as an economic commodity...*sigh*
'Men are the same as women...just inside out !'
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Going on intuition here, I think the ultimate cure would be based on vibration. Electrical frequency and sound are vibrations. Just as we use ultrasound to heal we could find a frequency that would be fine for our healthy tissues but kill the nasties.
Come to think of it, doesn't meditation affect our body frequency? Why couldn't we cure ourselves? Maybe that's what biofeedback technology is on about.
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Well I can think of one possible cure for all diseases.. providing there are no diseases in the after life that is. Of course death kinda defeats the purpose of finding the cure doesn't it! Sorry just going off on a morbid little tangent there and thinking outside the square.
>>Maybe the little bots could do DNA analysis and just kill anything that didn't match the host or a certain set of "good guys".
oooh I dunno aren't they going to destroy themselves in this situation, but that could be accounted for. What about if they get bit of a fried circuit as such and get things a little mixed up? Suddenly the host becomes the target. OOOHH here is an even better contemplation...what if when "downloading the latest virus definitions" someone inserts a virus that reprograms the nanobots and BAM people dropping like flies everywhere. Now there is a nasty form of population control!
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That;s another reason nanotechnology scares me: it will be used as a weapon long before it sees medical use. Can you imagine the horror of someone unleashing a horde of micro-killing-machines that only target a certain race or genetic trait? And you thought nukes were bad.
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The bots would have to be programmed to recognize their own kind. Assuming they could do DNA analysis, it wouldn't be out of the question to have positive ID on themselves.
As for the weapons of targeted destruction, yes that is a frightening possibility. But, if we don't shy away from the technology and let someone else get way ahead, I would think that there could be a "vaccine" in the form of other bots that would kill bots that they don't recognize. Another arms race.
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John - The Eternal Pessimist.
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There has already been news of biological toxins that could effectively target certain races/genetic traits....one assumes these could effectively be a reality long before nanobots would do the same thing. Oh fu*&ing joy !!....pardon me !!
'Men are the same as women...just inside out !'
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The cure may well be hidden in the very thing that kills us -- cancer cells. They can live forever.
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Probably the difference between the nanotechnology "bots" and biological toxins and viruses would be a rather thin line.
Another scary thought is that given the time frame for technology development in secret and when the knowledge becomes public, some of these technologies probably already exist somewhere. The stealth fighter was almost ten years old before it was unveiled to the public.
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John - The Eternal Pessimist.
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quote:
Originally posted by Donnah
Going on intuition here, I think the ultimate cure would be based on vibration. Electrical frequency and sound are vibrations. Just as we use ultrasound to heal we could find a frequency that would be fine for our healthy tissues but kill the nasties.
Come to think of it, doesn't meditation affect our body frequency? Why couldn't we cure ourselves? Maybe that's what biofeedback technology is on about.
I'm a little slow on the uptake here (actually, a lot slow, but that's normal for me) but I read an article a long time ago about some researchers that have shown a substantial improvement in healing (in turkeys) when they were exposed to vibrations. Interesting, but i can't remember the link or location.
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John - The Eternal Pessimist.
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Turkeys huh? I've been called worse.[;)] Seriously, if you come across that info John, I'd be most interested in having a boo.
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Me to sounds interesting.
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Here is a link to one aspect of the article. I swear that some of the research showed that the turkeys were less susceptible to diseases and healed faster also.
http:// http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2001/ast02nov_1.htm
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John - The Eternal Pessimist.
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Hey, do you guys read Asterix? Panacea is the name of the girl that Obelix is sort of in love with and is sort of a dumb pretty blonde. Interesting choice of name.
Am I dead? Am I alive? I'm both!
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Important to note that the vibration story relates to animals prevented from weight-bearing (to simulate weightlessness). Similar techniques can be used to prevent osteoporosis and muscle atrophy in bed-bound patients whilst they heal.
Chris
"I never forget a face, but in your case I'll make an exception"
- Groucho Marx
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Will it help Turkeys at Christmas and Thanksgiving ?[:D]
'Men are the same as women...just inside out !'
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cats purr not only when contented but also
when injured in pain and giving birth.
the frequencies cats purr at is directly
related to healing. i think 50 Hz for bone
growth and upto 140 hz for tendon repair.
this is maybe why the egyptions treated
them like gods. did they use cats to heal?
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Maybe I should get myself an ultra sound machine for whenever I come home with injuries, particularly my ankles set it to the appropriate level and buzz away.
Anybody got one going cheap?
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Well OldMan, in Australia most 240VAC electric motors run at 50 Hz, so just go stand near a fan (or give the cat a good patting).
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You don't need ultrasound, just a small motor - a cheap one that is not balanced very well. I've also read something (years ago) about cats purring and it's relation to their amazing healing powers.
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John - The Eternal Pessimist.
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i don't know whether they actually heal or whether just
givin them a fuss lowers your tension etc, things like
this should but aren't researched, animal behaviour
has a lot of secrets to give us, pity no ones really
looking
ebzz :)
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Last year one of my cats died. While he was with us I called him the healer cat because when I was sick he would come and lay with me in bed. Whatever part of my body hurt, he seemed to know and would snuggle up to it and purr. He took away the pain in short order. He would also wrap himself around the top of my head and purr when I had a headache. I miss him for more reasons than his healing abilities.
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When I was young we had an old tom cat that was getting fairly tame in his old age (he'd been a barn cat all his life). As he aged he was getting arthritis, as was my father. The cat had an annoying habit of biting when he got to feeling really good. It was just a love nibble, but could sometimes hurt. One day my dad was petting him and the cat bit him on the finger joint, right on the spot that was swollen from arthritis. That one broke the skin. But then, over the next couple of weeks, the arthritis went away from my dad's fingers and has never returned - in any of his joints. He's now 80 BTW and this happened when he was in his early 50's. Unfortunately, the cat didn't last that long and never bit me hard enough to break the skin.
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John - The Eternal Pessimist.
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Aren't they using been venom for arthritis too? Wonder if it was the same type of effect?
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I've heard of leaches being used to treat it as well.
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I haven't heard of leeches for arthritis. Medically we use them for crushing injuries, to suck out the old blood which makes for congestion, hence increased pressure in a small closed space, (i.e. a finger), and circulatory compromise. I suppose there could be something other than anticoagulant in their saliva that is good for arthritis.