Schneier looks at swine flu from a security standpoint.
…it takes about 25 kilobits — 3.2 kbytes — of data to code for a virus that has a non-trivial chance of killing a human. This is more efficient than a computer virus, such as MyDoom, which rings in at around 22 kbytes… It’s humbling that I could be killed by 3.2 kbytes of genetic data. Then again, with 850 Mbytes of data in my genome, there’s bound to be an exploit or two.
Swine flu continues to spread, with 1799 deaths in 177 countries as at 9 August. The deaths are predominantly in the Americas – 1579 of the total. Clearly the seasonal pattern in the chart below is something new, and in retrospect the timing was fortunate as it didn’t fall into the season where conditions for flu are optimal.
There was underlying disease in at least half of the fatal cases. Two risk factors seem of particular importance: pregnancy and metabolic condition (including obesity which has not been considered as risk factor in previous pandemics or seasonal influenza)… Swine flu has killed 165 people in Argentina, more than any nation with the exception of the U.S… Northern hemisphere countries have so far ordered more than one billion doses of swine flu vaccine… indigenous peoples appear to be at increased risk of severe disease…
The new H1N1 influenza virus bears a disturbing resemblance to the virus strain that caused the 1918 flu pandemic, with a greater ability to infect the lungs than common seasonal flu viruses… the new swine flu strain can spread beyond the upper respiratory tract to go deep into the lungs — making it more likely to cause pneumonia… people who survived the 1918 pandemic seem to have extra immune protection against the virus…
A form of ebola virus has been detected in pigs for the first time, raising concerns it could mutate and threaten humans… Reston ebolavirus has only been seen in monkeys and humans previously…
More data on traces of drugs in city water supplies. Schneier points out that sampling sewage could track the drug use back to individual houses.
Scientists from Oregon State University, the University of Washington and McGill University partnered with city workers in 96 communities, including Pendleton, Hermiston and Umatilla, to gather samples on one day, March 4, 2008. The scientists then tested the samples for evidence of methamphetamine, cocaine and ecstasy, or MDMA… every one of the 96 cities — representing 65 percent of Oregon’s population — had a quantifiable level of methamphetamine in its wastewater.
A government test of fish pulled from nearly 300 streams in the USA found every one of them contaminated with some level of mercury… 27% of the fish had mercury levels high enough to exceed what the Environmental Protection Agency considers safe for those who eat fish twice a week.
Scientists in Israel have demonstrated that it is possible to fabricate DNA evidence…
The scientists fabricated blood and saliva samples containing DNA from a person other than the donor of the blood and saliva. They also showed that if they had access to a DNA profile in a database, they could construct a sample of DNA to match that profile without obtaining any tissue from that person…
Good essay by a Canadian doctor on what can be learned from the natural experiment in healthcare that arose when the US and Canada parted ways 40 years ago. Telling.
Our countries are joined at the hip. We peacefully share a continent, a British heritage of representative government and now ownership of GM. And, until 50 years ago, we had similar health systems, healthcare costs and vital statistics. Canada spends 10% of its economy on healthcare; the U.S. spends 16%… we now live nearly three years longer, and our infant mortality is 20% lower… Compounding the confusion is traditional American ignorance of what happens north of the border, which makes it easy to mislead people. Boilerplate anti-government rhetoric does the same.