World Affairs

As many of you know Kyle has stepped down as head of World Affairs, however the work continues and we have a great issue for you. We start off with an extremely interesting, in-depth article presented by Natus Lumen which discusses a revolutionary piece of medicine which could produce a Cure for the Common Virus. Second and finally, R Anderson discusses the recent Disasters in Asia which have devastated the people of Myanmar and China. That wraps up this issue of World Affairs, read on to brush up on some the fascinating things happening in the world today!

-R Anderson

A Cure For The Common Virus - By: Natus Lumen

Scientists may soon finally have a method to efficiently kill viruses. Recent evidence has shown that it is possible to use lasers to literally shake a virus to death. This is done through determination of the virus's resonant frequency. When laser pulses are tuned to this frequency, they are capable of destroying the virus. A famous example is the ability of a singer to shatter glass using only his or her voice.

However, considerable hurdles still exist before this technology will be viable for clinical use. First, and least seriously, lasers of this type cannot penetrate the skin to reach the bloodstream. This problem can be fairly easily resolved through the use of machines similar to those used for dialysis. Dialysis machines circulate the patient's entire blood supply through an external device that filters out waste, and are used to treat patients who have suffered severe kidney failure. A similar machine that circulates the patient's blood through a pulsing laser could resolve the penetration issue. Also, scientists are considering the use of ultrasound in place of lasers to solve this problem, which could result in a more outpatient-friendly procedure. Second, and more difficult to fix, is that determining resonance frequencies is currently a trial-and-error process. It can take a long time to determine the appropriate resonance frequencies for a single virus. It is theoretically possible to calculate the resonance frequencies of a given virus, but the amount of computer memory required makes it impractical at best. Scientists are currently working to find a less memory-intensive method of determining a virus's resonance frequency.

This method of killing viruses has a few strong potential benefits over traditional treatments. First, unlike with drugs, viruses will likely be unable to develop a resistance to a mechanical cause of death such as resonance. Second, the lasers are selective in their destruction. Because viruses have a different resonance frequency than healthy cells, theoretically only the infection should be destroyed by the laser. Finally, by avoiding anti-viral drugs, the horrific side-effects often associated with viral treatments can be largely avoided.

Targets for this treatment could potentially include any known virus, such as the rhinovirus (the cause of the common cold), influenza, or even HIV. In fact, according to new and as-yet-unpublished data released by Discover Magazine, Kong-Thon Tsen, an Arizona State University physicist, has successfully destroyed HIV molecules in a test tube using this procedure. it must be remembered, however, that though this technique looks very promising, this technology still requires more research before its clinical effectiveness can be fully determined.

[ Back to top ]

Disasters in Asia - By: R Anderson

In the month of May, Asia was hit by two natural disasters. First Cyclone Nargis hit on May 2, in Myanmar (formerly called Burma). Then the Sichuan earthquake struck the heartland of China on May 12. Both disasters caused devastation to the countries affected.

Cyclone Nargis

Cyclone Nargis is the deadliest cyclone ever to strike Myanmar. In the last week of April the cyclone formed in the Bay of Bengal about 1150 Kilometers east of the coast of India. Then on April 27, it strengthened to a level 1 cyclone (a level 1 cyclone is the weakest, a level 5 is the strongest). On April 28 the cyclone paused over a very warm patch of water providing more fuel for the cyclone to grow. When it moved on it had strengthened to a category 4. It would waver slightly on the course to Myanmar but reached maximum strength almost immediately before hitting Myanmar with winds of 215 Kilometers per hour.

It struck the mainland of Myanmar on May 2, 2008. In total, as of May 25 it is reported that over 135,000 have died as a result of the Cyclone. The military junta that rules Myanmar came under tremendous pressure from the international community because they initially refused to accept any aid from other countries of the world, even while thousands of their people were starving to death. Finally on May 9 the government of Myanmar relented and allowed international aid in for the first time, 7 days after the disaster, with a Red Cross estimated 80,000 already dead. However even then they would not let any people from other countries come into Myanmar to help, the help would have to be limited to donations of money, food, and other items. By refusing to let the world help to the full amount they could have, the government of Myanmar condemned thousands of their own people to death. Finally the military junta allowed aid workers from Asia in on May 21, and the rest of the world on May 23, by which time more than 130,000 people had died, and a million more were homeless. The government of Myanmar finally allowed the aid workers in but is making things difficult for the organizations by not allowing aid groups to use helicopters or boats. The work continues but there may be wide spread death from starvation in Myanmar before long because the area hit hardest was the area where 60% of Myanmar’s rice, which is one of the country's most common foods, is grown. Flooding the fields and making the soil useless for a long time to come. Myanmar has a long way to go before they can declare that this disaster is over.

The death toll continues to rise because of a government that places themselves staying in power above the lives of the millions of people they govern.

Sichuan Earthquake

On Monday May 12, ten days after the cyclone struck Myanmar, China was hit by a magnitude 8 earthquake. The tremors were felt in every part of China except the very western borders, down to the southern tip of India, and up through Mongolia to much of southern Russia. In the three days that followed the main earthquake 44 aftershocks occurred ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 6.0.

The damage caused by the earthquake was huge. The earthquake has caused at least 68,000 deaths with 19,000 missing and over 350,000 people injured. 5-8 million people have been left homeless by the earthquake, and only 5% of those affected by the earthquake have any insurance. China has handled this disaster extremely well. Just hours after the earthquake had hit ten emergency medical teams along with 50,000 soldiers had been dispatched to aid in relief work. The relief work has been difficult though because all the highways in Sichuan Province were destroyed in the earthquake, making it very difficult to get supplies in to many of the rural areas. Also following the earthquake there was the constant danger of landslides and mudslides because it had been raining a lot since the earthquake. However China kept trying with over 150 aircraft involved in trying to rescue those trapped by the earthquake and get supplies to the villages that had been cut from the rest of China when the highways collapsed. Unlike Myanmar, China allowed foreigners to help in the disaster relief in any way they wanted. On May 16 rescue workers arrived from 6 countries to aid in the relief. By this time China had mobilized 150,000 troops and medics to help across the 58 counties and cities affected.

The damage of the earthquake might not be over yet. Because of debris from the earthquake blocking rivers, massive amounts of water pooled up behind the debris rising at an alarming rate. These pose a great danger to the people living downstream of the blocked rivers because if the water were to break through the debris it would cause a massive amount of flooding downstream. The Chinese government is attempting to create spaces where the blocked water can safely bleed off until the water is low enough so that they can clear the debris from the river.

China has shown a quick and effective response to a very large disaster, which is more than Myanmar can claim. Two nations have been shattered by these disasters, please support the victims in whatever way you are able.

[ Back to top ]