Deep
down, are all of us insane? New research suggests we are.
Nachrichten, Switzerland
Science Explains Global Crises: People Everywhere are Nuts!
"What
company with mentally-stable decision makers would drill for oil at ocean
depths of a mile without taking appropriate safety measures? What state with
non-dingbat politicians would take on debt and cover it up in the hope that the
fraud wouldn't be exposed? … Are we all mad? The answer is a sobering 'yes,' at
least in regard to the irregularities clinically known as mental
illness."
Is insanity built into human DNA - ready to be expressed under just the right circumstances? And does this explain the apparently irrational decisionmaking in government and business?
Presumably like me, you my dear reader have the occasional sneaking, creepy feeling that a good portion of humanity
is more or less crazy. Indeed - that it must in fact be insane.
After all, what company with
mentally-stable decision makers would drill for oil at ocean depths of a mile
without taking appropriate safety measures? What state with non-dingbat politicians
in charge would take on debt and cover it up in the hope that the fraud
wouldn't be exposed? What banks without completely incompetent management would
give loans to people who are clearly unable to repay them? And what financial group
is so stupid as to purchase this same junk in such large quantities? And yes -
what business leaders could possibly believe that money that multiplies without
being backed up by assets could possibly have real value?
So as I said: Are we all mad?
Or at least potentially mad? The answer is a sobering “yes,” at least in regard
to the various irregularities clinically known as mental illness.
For quite some time, mental
illnesses like schizophrenia and other psychoses have presented medical science
with something of a mystery. No proposed causes have ever provided a
satisfactory explanation for these terrible illnesses. Identical twins, of
which only one was affected by the disease, show that it can't be hereditary
and that they are rarely the result of parental influences. Likewise, the search
for environmental influences has yet to produce results. But in 250 studies,
one thing conspicuously stood out: winter births have a 5-8 percent greater
risk of schizophrenia.
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by WORLDMEETS.US
The course of this devastating,
phase-like disease progression makes everything even more mysterious, because
these and many other symptoms of patients indicate the presence of an
infection. Except that a virus can't be detected in the blood. Various
researchers continued to be intrigued by these contradictions and after years
of hard laboratory work, they found something quite shocking: All people carry
this type of virus, called HERV-W, within their own genetic material.
A few years ago, there was much
talk of so-called “junk DNA,”
useless genetic material that apparently had no purpose. Now it appears that
many of these DNA snippets are effectively retroviruses that infected
some of our distant ancestors. Normally there are no consequences for the descendants
of these infected individuals - conversely, if germ cells, which generate egg
and sperm cells, are infected, this type of virus can integrate itself into the genome
and be passed on.
This attack took place 60
million years ago in a lemur-like animal, a common ancestor of apes and humans.
And since
then … we’ve been loony? No. Not quite. Our
DNA is working hard to keep this and other viruses that have taken up residence
in our genome from becoming active. DNA consists of two strands of amino acids
that wind around one another. The surface of the DNA produces proteins and is
responsible for ensuring that our cells perform their functions. The areas of
the cellular DNA that are meant to be turned off (liver cell functions in the
brain, for example), are tightly intertwined so that the surface isn't
“visible.” The same is the case with these viral “stowaways.”
But in newborns, infectious
diseases like influenza, herpes and toxoplasmosis, etc., can awaken HERV-W,
which leads to a chronic inflammation of the brain that repeatedly flares up,
step-by-step tearing affected individual away from life. The fact that multiple
sclerosis is apparently caused by the same virus makes this parasite even more
frightening.
If this research proves
correct, it may open up a new and perhaps better was to treat these diseases. And
many parents, at least, will no longer be tormented by feelings of guilt if
they know they haven’t done anything wrong.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
All of which brings us back
to the subject of crazed humanity. For 40 percent of our genome consists of
viral fare dodgers taking a ride in “junk DNA.” Is it absurd to suspect the
existence of a malfunction - a virus that causes particularly asocial behavior
in especially power hungry, irresponsible and egomaniacal politicians and CEO’s?And wouldn’t it be great if it turned out
that this type of behavior was curable? Or is such an idea just plain ... crazy?
