(no subject)

[sophiaserpentia]

Caught my eye in the news today:

City officials in St. Petersburg, Florida, passed a law on Monday banning public suicides in an attempt to prevent a rock band from carrying out a planned suicide at a concert.

The band Hell on Earth said on its Web site that a terminally ill member of the Euthanasia Society would commit suicide at the concert at an undisclosed location in St. Petersburg. The band said it planned to show the event on its Web site. from City Tries to Block Concert Suicide Plan

and this:

A non-human molecule found in red meat and milk makes its way into the human system when eaten -- and seems to build up especially in tumors, U.S. researchers reported on Monday. The compound, called sialic acid, is found on the surfaces of animal cells but is not found in people, and may be one reason why animal-to-human organ and tissue transplants do not work well. Animals have a version called Neu5Gc, while humans carry Neu5Ac.

But researchers at the University of California San Diego found it does show up in the human body, and showed it can be absorbed from eating red meat and milk. They also showed that the body produces an immune response against the molecule.

... "The small amounts of Neu5Gc in normal tissues also raise the possibility that anti-Neu5Gc antibodies are involved in autoimmunity," the researchers said.

... In some cases the human immune response was similar to that seen when people are exposed to another animal molecule, this one a cell surface molecule called alpha galactose. Varki noted that the molecule is almost certainly not immediately toxic to people. "Meat eating has certainly been a feature of human ancestors for many hundreds of thousands of years," he said. "Thus, it is indeed possible that humans have developed some kind of tolerance or indifference to Neu5Gc. However, most humans are continuing to make antibodies against Neu5Gc." from Molecule Found in Meat, Milk and Tumors - Study

Comments

[azaz-al.livejournal.com]

"City officials in St. Petersburg, Florida, passed a law on Monday banning public suicides in an attempt to prevent a rock band from carrying out a planned suicide at a concert."

Whats the penalty for breaking this law? Death? :))

[elnigma.livejournal.com]

Puts me in mind of "Soup is Good Food" by the DK's

We're sorry
We hate to interrupt
But it's against the law to jump off this bridge
You'll just have to kill yourself somewhere else
A tourist might see you
And we wouldn't want that

I'm just doing my job, you know
So say uncle
And we'll take you to the mental health zoo
Force feed you mind - melting chemicals
Til even the outside world looks great .. (etc, etc.)

[azaz-al.livejournal.com]

I love that song!