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« ScotusBlog on amicus briefs | Main | Waiting line for Heller argument already begins »

The trials of antiquated hotels

Posted by David Hardy · 15 March 2008 10:49 PM

No wireless, and only one ethernet connection per room. It's a three bedroom suite, housing myself, Prof. Joe Olson, and Clayton and Mrs. Cramer. Clayton and I brought computers. So we have to alternate on blogging, and the three of us have to alternate reading email. I took them all (plus Bob Cottrol and my son Mark) to dinner at the finest Chinese restaurant in which I have ever eaten, The Peking Gourmet Inn. I normally eat to refuel, not to enjoy, but when in DC make an exception for that establishment.

Last night we had a series of discussions here in the room about everything under the sun. Heller, DNA identifications, general constitutional law. The most interesting, I thought, was Clayton's note that there is a genetic mutation which (by elimination a cellular port where the microrganism latches on) renders a person resistant to bubonic plague. I had heard that they did DNA work on skeletons from the period of the plague, and found that the people who lived to a long age then had this mutation. Clayton pointed out that, with the plague killing a third of Europe's population, the survivors were disproportionately of this mutation. Here's the really interesting point: the AIDS virus uses the same cellular port to attack. The result is that people with this mutation are immune to AIDS. That discovery was prompted by a fellow who contracted it 20+ years ago yet has never shown symptoms.They did his DNA work to find out whether there was something unusual about his genetics, and that finding was the outcome.

21 Comments | Leave a comment

jesse | March 16, 2008 2:11 AM | Reply

I've started taking a compact linksys router like this with me preconfigured with wpa2 when I travel so I don't have to deal with that.

It's small enough that there's no trouble finding room for it in my bag and cuts down on a lot of aggravation.

Jim W | March 16, 2008 3:26 AM | Reply

What, you don't own a router?

About that AIDS/plague thing, I heard about it. It is weird that you don't see bubonic plague type mortality rates with AIDS though. I find it hard to believe that such beneficial genes could have diluted so quickly. There were outbreaks of plague until nearly the industrial age.

Critic | March 16, 2008 5:10 AM | Reply

You could probably establish a peer to peer wireless connection between your laptops and enable internet connection sharing on the one plugged into the wall. Don't ask me how to do this since you're probably using windows and I haven't used it in years. There's probably a guide on the net to show you how to do this for situations like yours. Then again if you start messing with your net configuration your machine might altogether loose its ability to connect to the net, just before this major case.

Don Gwinn | March 16, 2008 7:52 AM | Reply

AIDS takes a lot longer to run its course than the Plague did. Plague victims have about five days before they're dead. AIDS has to develop from HIV, and even when you have full-blown AIDS something else has to kill you.

This is the first I've heard of this cellular port/genetic mutation thing. In the movies, we'd design a genetic alteration and drop a vial of liquid into village wells all across Africa, homeopathy-style. But even in real life, it's an interesting thought.

Flash Gordon | March 16, 2008 9:20 AM | Reply

This is really interesting.

I know nothing of genetics or medicine or any other science but being an avid reader of Darwin and all things about evolution I was skeptical back in the days when NPR discovered AIDS and informed the world that the human race would soon be extinct.

Without knowing any better I postulated that no disease could ever wipe out humans because some humans would have something in their genetic makeup that would make them immune and that through evolution that genetic trait would spread though the population over several generations. Thus, in some future time the world human population would be largely immune to AIDS.

In my imagined scenario the virus or disease always loses in the end and the human race goes on even though many individuals do not. Something like the smallpox vaccination speeds up a process that would occur on its own in time. It could be that the only reason bubonic plague still exists at all is because it can infect non-human animals.

Of course, another possibility is that I could be completely full of crap.

straightarrrow | March 16, 2008 10:14 AM | Reply

Flash Gordon, one has to love a man who has an idea,but absent proof realizes he may be wrong.

You would make one lousy human caused global warming nut.

I like that.

gattsuru | March 16, 2008 10:28 AM | Reply

Either a purchased router, wireless access point, or (preferably) switch would provide several connections, and that shouldn't cost more than thirty bucks from the local Wally World or Target.

Another alternative would be, in a Windows XP machine, to navigate to Start->Control Panel->Network Connections, and then set up a shared internet connection. There are some pretty in-depth guides on the matter out there.

Phillep | March 16, 2008 10:58 AM | Reply

This genetic thing, Europe got hit hard by bubonic plague, but Africa did not (so far as I know). Europeans have a lower AIDS rate than negros. Sounds plausible.

Wait a minute, though. Bubonic plague came from SE Asia, right? How bad is AIDS there?

Then, there's the question of whether the genetic change is dominant or recessive?

Clark E Myers | March 16, 2008 11:27 AM | Reply

A firewall router is a really good idea. I suspect all of you know or at least read Dr. Pournelle - consider his travel kit suggestions.

Best to use a hardware firewall on a local net and to have extension cords that will handle a bunch of plug in transformers for assorted gear.

JKB | March 16, 2008 12:40 PM | Reply

"from the local Wally World or Target."

They are in DC. No Wally World and only one Target until you get out of the district. DC city council works hard to keep it that way.

Letalis Maximus, Esq. | March 16, 2008 1:21 PM | Reply

When in DC, and I was there last week, I prefer to stay at the Hotel Washington. But only because I like to drink and the Old Ebbitt and then walk over to the pedestrian mall between the White House and Blair House and smoke a cigar, talk to the cops, and look at the peace protestors who have been there since Reagan I or something.

However, last week the HW was booked and so I ended up at the Fairmont Washington on 24th and M. Very nice hotel. Were it not for the distance from the office that I generally visit, and the fact that it is a $13 cab ride (or a long walk) to the Ebbitt, I would definitely stay there again.

No, I have never stayed at the Mayflower. May do it in the future sometime though. Just for giggles.

Alcibiades McZombie | March 16, 2008 5:30 PM | Reply

An Airport Express (or a clones by one of the other router manufacturers) is pretty handing for providing encrypted WiFi in a hotel room.

bullbore | March 16, 2008 7:49 PM | Reply

Check out the most recent paper on the CCR5 link between small pox and HIV infection...
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=16248677

it is available free. They cannot establish a link between a selective event and the origin of the CCR5 -delta32 allele from the previous study. I am a microbiologist not a human geneticist so this is out of my field but it seems that the authors conclude that the occurrence of this allele in the European population is about normal for alleles within the European population. Additionally, the allelic variation is within normal parameters for differences between European/African/ and Asian Societies.

BTW-the allele doesn't occur in Asian populations either.

Additional recent publications show that CCR5-delta32 mice strains are not resistant to Y.pestis infections (the plague microbe).

Unfortunately, the problem with HIV is that can infect us using multiple ports. CCR5 is one of the many chemokine receptors that HIV can use the enter macrophages. Unlike bacteria, viruses are much more plastic in their genetic content. Bacteria are living and thus require a certain set of genes to maintain life. Viruses have very minor requirements genetically as they usually pervert the host cell machinery to reproduce.

Sorry for being long winded but it is an interesting topic.

Clayton E. Cramer | March 16, 2008 9:22 PM | Reply

I've updated by blog about this. Darn! It was too good to stay true!

Clayton E. Cramer | March 16, 2008 9:23 PM | Reply

I've updated my blog about this. Darn! It was too good to stay true!

Turk Turon | March 17, 2008 4:03 AM | Reply

For you out-of-towners, may I recommend Restaurant Nora at Florida and R Street, a couple of blocks from Dupont Circle. The menu is organic but definitely not vegetarian. Good for celebrity-watching, too. Last time I was there I saw Stephen Stills.

Letalis Maximus, Esq. | March 17, 2008 6:02 AM | Reply

For an out of towner, I've seen a few celebs/pols. Just last week I saw Michael Barrone walking across the street in Georgetown. I bumped into, literally, Dan Rostenkowski at Reagan National once. Saw George Stephanopolous sitting in first class on a plane where I was, of course, riding in steerage. Saw Jack Kemp getting on a plane once. Saw Sam Donaldson walking around looking very confused at Reagan one afternoon. Have seen Secret Service ninjas walking around on the White House roof, and carrying their nifty little 5.7mm FN bullpups while patroling the grounds.

rexrs | March 17, 2008 9:26 AM | Reply

A study was done at an isolated English village on living decendants of plague survivors. They were found to have a Delta gene?, or something that immunized against it.

The Mechanic | March 17, 2008 1:37 PM | Reply

Did they have spittoons? An in-house bar? Other Amenities? Apparently the Democrat candidate endorses the "aids-was-developed-by-the-evil-white-man-to-selectively-kill-blacks" theory by not repudiating that big bag of wind pastor of his.

Mike Gallo | March 17, 2008 5:44 PM | Reply

Flash Gordon - Maximum mortality rate for a naturally occuring infectious disease is 80% with E. Bola. There are neurotoxins that do a better job that are produced by non-virulent organisms (the botulism endotoxin comes to mind), and there are synthetic organisms that kill at higher rates, but there just isn't anything that could theoretically kill 100% of humans, IMHO. Now, the further we dilute the gene pool through genetic engineering and health care advances, the more likely it becomes that some strange gene that we consider a horrible disease could be the phenotype that would survive such a pandemic. Imagine the irony - we cure a genetic disease, and find that those with said disease are the only ones who can survive the next plague.

bullbore | March 17, 2008 8:53 PM | Reply

Mike,

I believe you mean bacterial exotoxins. Endotoxins are usually part of the outermembrane of gram negative bacteria such as E.coli. Endotoxins elicit an immune response but are generally not nearly as potent as exotoxins. Botulinum, the botulism toxin is ~18-20 orders of magnitude more toxic in mice than snake venom and ~12 orders of magnitude more toxic than endotoxins.

I agree that we would be hard pressed to find a disease that would wipe out humans. It is really a red queen dilema between the ability of our immune system to recognize and adapt and the ability of the infectious agent to change so our adaptations are moot. HIV and Rhinovirus are two great examples of organisms that perform this on some level. They are capable of rapid change in their outer glycoproteins and evade recognition by our immune systems.

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