And that might mean the beginning of the end of obesity. What would Vonnegut have written about the world to come where it will be impossible to be fat, unless you refuse to submit to the genetic therapy? But for now, we have sound scientific proof that we bourgeois bohemians should be a lot less judgmental about the largest and most vulnerable of Americans.
Maybe someone can help me understand something. Let's say they do isolate a "fat gene." Let's say I'm a 47 year old male and am fat. What exactly would the "gene therapy" entail? A simple injection? A bone marrow transplant?
In other words, I fail to see how the isolation of a gene as causing some specific outcome can translate into a treatment for someone who's already developed.
I can see it for gene splicing of an ovum ... that makes sense. Once implanted there, then subsequent cell division would carry the new, corrected gene forward.
But my body has ... what? ... a trillion cells? How do they plan to correct the gene in all those places? Or is that not necessary?
Yes, sometimes it means an injection that modifies some code in a given gene. They are doing this now with patients with certain forms of cancer.
Could we please just skip straight to whatever gene therapy will help me shoot death beams out of my eyes?
I think they are working on that, but it will require a permit.
I will fight to the death for my second amendment right to shoot death beams out of my eyes - when death beams are criminalized, only criminals will have death beams.
wm, what sort of person WANTS death beams to shoot from his eyes? It sound uncivil to me.
Given that other study, about joy and jollity in fat men, where will we be as a society when all are genetically lean and hungry-looking as Cassius? Will they all also be as dangerous?
Kate certainly has that humanistic abiity to connect the dots of those various studies. A fat nation has never warred against another fat nation...
You guys - and gal - are quite funny today. Thanks. (Back to work.)
Paul, How's your Strauss article going?
Peter
Damn! I go away for a weekend and I miss a thread about optic death rays? Sign me up, too--because, armed with them, I shall RULE THE WORLD!
By the way, I became very excited when I first heard about Infusium 23. I was sure that I could use it to build a device that would also allow me to RULE THE WORLD!
Then I found out that it was shampoo.
John, I am pretty sure the permit will disallow "taking over the world," "exploding people who drive while talking on the cellphone," and other such obvious abuses. Of course, there may be a technological fix..."stun rays" -- not as much fun, but certainly more pro-social!