We Know What's Best For The Little Woman

[filkertom]

By way of vixyish: Read, and read. And then, after you're done throwing up and gnashing your teeth and cursing these fucking evil moron Puritan babysitter wannabes to the skies, act, and act.

ETA: Honestly, gang, while I appreciate you asking if you can copy a link, you can pretty much assume that if I put the links up here and tell you to go do something about them, [a] they're reasonably safe, at least on a browser/system security basis, and [b] it's okay to copy 'em to your own LJ or wherever. Dang, but I've got a polite buncha friends. :)

Comments

[qnofhrt.livejournal.com]

A man is diabetic. The only pharmacist in town is a vegan, and she refuses to prescribe insulin because it is made with animal products.

Insulin from animal sources is not and has not been available for quite some time. Human insulin (made by genetic engineering, which opens up a whole 'nother can of worms) has been available since 1982.

OT:curiosity point...

[nimitzbrood.livejournal.com]

I can't help but wonder why they can't take a batch of E. coli engineered to produce insulin from blood glucose and place them inside the chamber of an electronic implant that monitors the glucose levels then "feeds" the E. coli when the number reaches a certain level and releases the resulting insulin. There'd be a minimum "always on" state for the E. coli but if the pancreas in question has failed that would be needed anyway.

I don't know, maybe the technology just isn't there yet, but it seems like something like this should be repairable. Instead it's drugs or a transplant. :-(

Re: OT:curiosity point...

[robin-june.livejournal.com]

The process of turning on the gene you've implanted in these E. coli, and then when they're done making enough of your desired protein, lysing them, and purifying your protein away from the DNA, the E. coli's other proteins, and other and sundry cell debris, takes me several weeks of 16-hour workdays in the laboratory. (I'm harvesting and purifying histone proteins in vitro.)

As a matter of fact, I presented a PowerPoint presentation of all this at the local Mensa "con" last month, and next month I'll be reprising it at ConText.

Re: OT:curiosity point...

[nimitzbrood.livejournal.com]

Ahh! No "instant on/off". Got it.

Thanks for indulging my curiosity! :-)

Re: OT:curiosity point...

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

ISTM that a combination of technologies would work, though; if safe insulin-producing bacteria can be included in a unit that monitors blood glucose levels and dispenses the insulin mechanically as needed, it might work. There would be logistical problems of ensuring the bacteria thrive and continue to produce, as well as how to handle "full tank" conditions to avoid overflow -- but it probably can be made to work.

[catnip13.livejournal.com]

Good point, but Vixy's example still works - there are still lots of other animal derived drugs (ie: premarin), other animal derived ingredients (lactose, gelatin) and pretty much all drugs are tested on animals, and as such, are objectionable to some vegans.

(Personally, I'm a dietary vegan who does take pharmaceuticals when I need to. But there are others who take a firmer stand than I do).