I kept forgetting to write this blog - for years, in fact.  I came up with the basic theory in the early '80's and assumed that some paleontologist or evolutionary theorist would derive it independently, or someone would shoot it down.  So far as I know, neither has happened and more evidence in its favor is accumulating, while I, in turn, have become incrementally more knowledgeable, as well.  So, before I lose it to Alzheimer's or a stroke, etc., I figured I better get this in p...

Yeah, sure, I know that Demos are supposed to be a buncha wimpy Republican wannabees. However, with this group - you might be really SURPRISED! Members of the Patrick Henry group include a lot of the major Green Party people and other local activists, mostly KPFK fans. This time, they are going to have a real star performer on tap. Greg Benford is both a noted physicist and a top-ranked sf writer. He is also a professor of physics at UCI. AND, he was on the two big federally sponsored pane...

Ok, so we've got this information packet called a virus. It inserts itself into the DNA of a cell and uses the cellular machinery to make lots and lots of copies of itself. But, suppose there already is another virus in the cell, doing the same. Things can get confused real easily, which is apparently how these new flu strains move from duck to pig to human. It isn't generally a simple mutation by the original virus, but rather a mix-up of genes from another virus already adapted to t...