CB, a major urban myth these days is intended to be anti-racist, but is actually just absurd. It's the idea that we are all just the same. It's not true.
Genetics is the basis for most of our lives. While environmental influences are significant in people [which is why we have big brains capable of learning lots of stuff about our surroundings], we are essentially DNA beings with billions of years of gene selection by biological warfare and through the slings and arrows of death by misadventure shaping our DNA into a record of all that has gone before in a probablistic way.
We are all part of a very slow-running quantum computer, which tries all forms, creating all possible genetic states through mutation and combinations. Nearly all mutations, [99.999999999% at a guess], fail to make the grade and die in the attempt, either immediately or from later generations. It is a horrifically cruel way to design DNA for sentient, fearful and pain-suffering creatures. If engineers built aircraft, buildings or car brakes by randomly making all possible types, and just keeping those which didn't crash and kill, there would be uproar and lawsuits galore. But that's how nature does DNA engineering. One or two space shuttle crashes and there's uproar. Imagine if 99.99999999% of space shuttles were destroyed in action. It's a hell of a way for an omniscient, omnipotent and loving being to run a railroad. It looks more like a cruel joke to me.
Anyway, during the sars epidemic, I'd noticed that Chinese Asians were the only people who seemed to die from sars, other than a few people such as Dr Urbani, our champion bug buster. Having been involved with lymphoma and statistics and genes and stuff a bit over the last few years, I've learned that we are each genetically and statistically unique, and environmentally unique.
Nevertheless, there are broad categories of sameness, with exceptions to each category. So, everyone with a particular DNA might die from some effect. Except for the one who doesn't. For example, everyone with a genetic vulnerability to malaria, AIDS, sars or smallpox will get really ill or die.
Unless they don't, which might be due to:
1....sickle cells against malaria
2....the genes which confer immunity to AIDS virus [as shown up in some African prostitutes who didn't get sick]
3....genetic immunity to sars
4....vaccination against smallpox
We are not all the same. We are all different. Whether it's the <human leucocype antigen (HLA)-B46 gene are more likely to fall victim to SARS, while people with the HLA-B13 gene are relatively immune to the SARS virus.> factor, or something else, I wouldn't have a clue.
But not everyone dies. Not everyone gets very sick, despite no immune system prior challenges by the sars bug. It's an individual business.
As Henry says, being old is a major risk factor. I don't know why that is. Being Chinese without the HLA-B13 gene, is perhaps a good safety factor. Maybe being European gives a turbo boost to protection.
Humans inadvertently wage germ warfare on each other. Those with the right genes survive and those who are genetically distant and susceptible to a disease die. So Europeans invaded the North American aborigines and the killer Euro bugs did most of the work [I guess]. The aborigines appear not to have had diseases to pass back to defeat the invaders. Their spears and stuff weren't a match for muskets, smallpox [or noocular bombs].
Anyway, that's my theory which seems to fit what's happening. It's subject to change without notice during any subsequent sars attacks and I'm not giving my usual double your money back guarantee.
Mqurice
PS: I also plead guilty to being ignorant about biological stuff, but with sars on the rampage I'm somewhat curious and my theory seems like a good story. I like it anyway. I will not be testing my theory voluntarily - I will avoid sars like the plague. |
