Stem Cells and our future

Obama opens a new path to funding research on stem cells with federal funds, but what are the implications of this new policy?

Check the basics first: What are Stem Cells?

According to the National Institutes of Health resource for stem cell research defines the Stem Cells as follows: “They are the kind of cells that have the remarkable potential to develop into many different cell types in the body. Serving as a sort of repair system for the body, they can theoretically divide without limit to replenish other cells as long as the person or animal is still alive. When a stem cell divides, each new cell has the potential to either remain a stem cell or become another type of cell with a more specialized function, such as a muscle cell, a red blood cell, or a brain cell.”


That means we are going to be able to repair the damaged cells from our bodies, an example?, recently scientist have been doing some research to cure diabetes, they put stem cells into the pancreas and they recover the capacity of the pancreas to produce insulin, Great Isn’t it? .

Another one?, we can create Synthetic Blood, (wow!), Because of this, they did not need blood donors (great, they can save a lot of money with the biscuits and juice they give you in order to attract people to donate blood), they will be producing O Negative Blood which is the universal donor “group whose blood can be transfused into anyone without fear of tissue rejection.



This blood group is relatively rare; applicable to about 7 per cent of the population, but it could be produced in unlimited quantities from embryonic stem cells because of their ability to multiply indefinitely in the laboratory.” Says the independent; A UK journal; this blood will be free of virus such as HIV and Hepatitis.
This new path in science will bring us a lot of ethical issues such as: there will be people not very happy with the idea of destroy embryos to create Stem Cells, (By the way according to Carl Sagan the characteristic that made us unique as a species is the use of our brain, our conscience, I will leave the ironic comments for later!, and you can see this when the brain starts to present electrical activity, and that happens in the sixth month of pregnancy, according to his definition, we can only call human an embryo after the sixth month!, but still we all know that in the first month still the only choice of this embryo is to become a human being, it is just a matter of time to develop his brain!), in theory one embryo can meet all the needs of blood of one nation.

Another challenge that this technology will bring: will not be available to all people, hence the first filter will be… Money; That means this will be available first in the developed countries, which will increase his life expectancy and it will increase the pressure for dramatic changes in their pensions systems, health systems, and maybe work regulations, This will be a form of an accelerated biological Darwinism?, filtered by money?, where will leave this the underdeveloped countries.?.

The accelerated pace of changes in today’s world would leave us with a huge differences with the quality of live in the developed and underdeveloped world, you can add this to the list: differences in access to energy (U.S.A. spent the 25% of all the energy produced in the world with only the 5% of the population living in this country), also the digital Gap (where the vast majority of web pages and digital services where focused in U.S.A.), now you can add this new biological technology.

Now I can say confidently that the technology will shape tomorrow’s world, the question remaining is in what way?

See it was not a small change after all!, the research on stem cells with federal funds.

GM and the global warming. (The whole Detroit Business)

So, GM is in trouble as well as Ford and Chrysler, and as an icon of the American culture this brings a lot of emotional issues for the Americans, but to be honest, besides the economical effects of this bankruptcies, it seems that the Americans already decides they not like the American cars, except for those who spent 10 or 20 times more in petrol just to go and bought an overpriced cup of coffee (American way of life!), and by this I mean SUV’s like the Ford F Series, Hummers (the version of a chubby boy on steroids, pretty much a portrait of many Americans, many of their owners ranked this vehicle last in a J.D. Power survey because of the consumption), Cadillac Escalade, Chevy Suburban, Chevy Silverado, Dodge RAM.




Here are some numbers according to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) Fuel Economy Guide 2008.




I put in the first place the Smart Convertible, a vehicle with one of the best fuel consumptions, just to compare.


For the complete guide check at: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/FEG2008.pdf



Top Best Sellers in U.S.A. 2008



Source: http://autos.aol.com/gallery/2008-top-ten-best-selling

% of increase is:More than 60%

If the top 10 best selling cars in America were all Smart they would spent in Petrol around U$2.9 Billion Dollars, with only the 10 top sellers in 2008, the fuel consumption is nearly U$5 Billion, (To be honest I took the worst consumption rate to put in this table!, the biggest engines available, but anyway!) still that’s a lot more!

The Americans who under the government of George W Bush rejected to adhere the Kyoto protocol to avoid the global warming; In that way they spent the 25% of all the oil consumption in the world, a country that only represents the 5.1% of the global population, but they just simply don’t care! (Not all of them of course, you can find sensible and smart people that until this moment haven’t made any difference!).

I know many of this huge Pick ups were use to carried on tools man and stuff, but still, in All over the world the leading pick ups are the ones who can carry on the job without excessive petrol consumption (pick ups with small engines capable to carry a load of up to 1 Ton, with nearly half of petrol consumption)

And the other cars are just cars to go from point A to Point B, but with “style”, this Style costs a lot for the whole world, they smile and laugh if you talk with an American about the small-efficient European cars, but to me it seems they need to learn how to be sensible and “smart” with this planet, like many people in this world (Europe, Latin America, India, China, Japan).

This trend of petrol abuse on behalf of the American way of life is unsustainable, they need to change.

Now, The three big automakers are in trouble, GM, Ford and Chrysler, they build Huge cars because they are profitable (small cars, small business said the arrogants in GM), and recently I heard that Bill Ford the grandchildren of Henry Ford were more likely to support hybrid cars, but the board of directors and other powerful people in Ford choose to follow the known path, which is that path?, built huge, expensive, petrol inefficient vehicles like the F series, Ford Explorer, Ford Excursion, and so.

Then what happen if this companies files for bankruptcy and let us say they do not recover and they close “ford ever”?

Well, now a growing numbers of automakers designed cars only with the North American market in mind, (Nissan Armada, Toyota Land Cruiser, Mercedes Benz G series, BMW 5 series, Volkswagen Touareg), how we can send this message to our chubby, environmentally retarded North American citizens?, who in pursue of “status” aim to purchase the biggest vehicle possible?, They should learn from Europeans, that “the car that you have represents what you are” a mentally retarded with no respect for the environment

If the three big ones of Detroit fail, maybe this could be the down payment that drove us to more environmentally sensible products in the car market, but maybe not because the three big ones are just a lousy automakers, the good ones could replace this American cars, with others made by a Japanese or German automaker.

But what happen with the financial crisis? , maybe now with this two effects (one as a consequence of the other), this could lead to a change in the perceptions of the American Citizens, and under the government of Obama and his secretary of Energy Steven Chu (former Berkeley Lab Director and Nobel Prize in physics) could show them a new way to save energy and our environment to our chubby, insensible Americans citizens.

MEXICO A "FAILED STATE THREAT" BECAUSE OF DRUG WARS?

Mexico is in trouble and increasingly become a important problem to his neighbor
United States, because of the violence, pressure and corrupting power the Mexican drug cartels has been gaining throughout this years (particularly the gulf and sinaloan cartel).


Colombia used to be the center of the production and distribution of mainly cocaine and Marihuana, and during the 80’s and the 90’s; And in this Andean country the drug cartels increase his power through the corrupting charm of money, and in that era (specially the 80’s) the Colombian society was permissive with this traffic, Because in that time the U.S. was more concern about the cold war and his enemies in Eastern Europe behind the iron curtain than a drug trafficking problem in a country in the corner of South America (nuclear threats beats Drug Trafficking).

Now the congress of the United States approved a package to help the anti drug war in Mexico for about U$400 million, Colombia now has a U$550 million after years of lobbying, but Mexico because of being a neighbor can get it in just a few months, after a serious and violent episodes in this war.
Now just look at the facts in Mexico:

- Increasing violence (the last year 5.000 homicides were connected with this war).
- Increasing numbers in all types of violence (kidnapping is increasingly at a very fast speed)
- GDP of Mexico U$ 893 Billions at the end of 2007
- In 2008 they spent 0.46% of his GDP, nearly U$4.1 Billion in defense (less than Colombia!)) Who has a GDP of U$249.8 Billions (both were calculated with the current exchange rate, not PPP), Colombia invest 2.2% of his GDP in defense.
-Colombia spends over U$5.5 Billions in weapons in order to fight the Drug trafficking guerrilla, and some other groups like some factions of the paramilitary forces (Mexico needs to increase his defense expenditures and create a sensible strategy to fight this threat)



Stratfor an intelligence web site made an overview of this increasing spiral violence spiraling, lets see:
- “Edgar Millan Gomez was shot dead in his own home in Mexico City on May 8, responsible for overseeing most of Mexico’s counternarcotics efforts. He orchestrated the January arrest of one of the leaders of the Sinaloa cartel, Alfredo Beltran Leyva.”
- “The week before, Roberto Velasco Bravo died when he was shot in the head at close range by two armed men near his home in Mexico City. He was the director of organized criminal investigations in a tactical analysis unit of the federal police. The Mexican government believes the Sinaloa drug cartel ordered the assassinations of Velasco Bravo and Millan Gomez. Combined with the assassination of other federal police officials in Mexico City, we now see a pattern of intensifying warfare in Mexico City.”
The fighting also extended to the killing of the son of the Sinaloa cartel leader, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman Loera, who was killed outside a shopping center in Culiacan, the capital of Sinaloa state. Also killed was the son of reputed top Sinaloa money launderer Blanca Margarita Cazares Salazar in an attack carried out by 40 gunmen. According to sources, Los Zetas, the enforcement arm of the rival Gulf cartel, carried out the attack. Reports also indicate a split between Sinaloa and a resurgent Juarez cartel, which also could have been behind the Millan Gomez killing.“
This summarizes the most recent spiral of violence created for the drug trafficking, the question is? This would end soon?, and the answer seems to be a painful: NO.
While Colombia engaged a frontal fight against the drug cartels in the 90`s, and after this country defeat the cartel of Medellin and the cartel of Cali, No without a high cost in human lives and after a serious threat of become a failed state in the 90`s., this defeated cartels in Colombia lose the distribution business in the U.S. a part of the chain that starting in that time to be controlled by the Mexican cartels.
It seems that the story is happening again, while the cartels grow, a lot of people benefits from the money they irrigate, and when this business reach a certain point the fights between the cartels over the control of territories and the manage of the huge amounts of money that this business produce.
Right now that is the scenario we are seeing in today’s Mexico, off course the society felt comfortable while the narcs do they business and spent money like crazy people, but once they reach this inflexion point the things began to seem nasty and the violence skyrocketing in biblical proportions; you can expect more horrendous crimes from this war.
Mexico needs to learn the lessons from Colombia at a fast pace!, they already have a Free Trade agreement ant his time to market is unbeatable but still it seems they are not capable to spread the benefits from that prosperity to his citizens, who insist in crossing the borders heading towards U.S.A.; And it seems that this happens because a high level of corruption, bureaucracy, and lack of quality in the justice management.
The current Mexican president took the initiative to fight against the drug cartels and this is only the awakening of this nightmare for Mexico, there is going to be a lot more to come, and now it seems that the international pariah regarding drugs will be Mexico instead of Colombia.
Mexico is about to take the painful road, but there is a difference now; Obama seems to be looking for alternatives to this prohibitionist policies, maybe we are reaching the point of change (like when they allow the consumption of alcohol and tobacco), and this will make it easier for Mexico, but if this change would not happen soon, maybe it will become true that Mexico is a failed State, unless the Mexican society felt so compelled to fight that they were willing to pay a high price and willing to make incredible sacrifices in order to liberate themselves from this course, but with his level of education, his ethics and moral values (not properly the best) and a serious lack of culture (they are like new rich people!, blinded by the money!), my bet is that Mexico will become a Pakistan in America, Even they insisted that this is not true! (They are liars too!).