Swine Flu, Red Mars, and Merced

I went away to Utah and Mexico for a couple of weeks.   I was really sick when I left and for the Utah part of the trip.  I had a fever and my tonsils were swollen and I lost my voice.  I shared my infection with at least one friend and both of my parents (I'm really sorry).  Upon returning from Mexico, my friend accused me of starting the swine flu pandemic. I also was called upon to be the campus expert on swine flu in case the local press wanted to ask someone at UC Merced about it.  As the campus expert and potential source (according to some) of the infection, I though I should post something about it.

Swine Flu is (usually) a Type A influenza that causes fever, runny nose, sore throat, lethargy, lack of appetite, coughing, diarrhea, nausea and vomiting.  It is treatable with oseltamivir and zanamivir, which are neuraminidases that prevent the emergence of virions from human cells that have been turned into viral manufacturing plants.  Unless an individual is immunocompromised, s/he should probably not take the antiviral medications because viruses evolve resistance to antimicrobials fairly quickly.

The current flu pandemic is not technically Swine flu but a chimera of human influenza, avian influenza and two strains of swine influenza.  Apparently its symptoms are mild and it is not nearly as deadly as the press has reported. Currently, only 9 fatalities resulting from the current flu pandemic have been confirmed by the world health organization.  This is fortunate, because the number of fatalities reported by the press would mean that the current pandemic is more deadly than the 1918 flu pandemic.  However, it is not anywhere near as deadly, it is just easy to blame the popular.

I have started a new book I think I will like...Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson.  Okay so the reason I started reading this book is because yesterday I got invited to a reception that the Chancellor is holding for him tonight and I wanted to at least get an idea of what he has written.  I am only a few pages in (I started reading around midnight and my eyes were too blurry to last very long) but it already seems good.  He has mentioned the search for microbes on Mars within the first few pages and that seems good to me.  I am curious about how closely the exploration and terraforming of Mars will resemble current efforts by NASA.  

And finally, the best news in a long time.  The Army Corps of Engineers approved development of the Virginia Smith Trust lands for UC Merced today.  It has been a long, hard battle to get the approval.  Now we can build the university and sell some land to developers to provide scholarships for the students. Most are first generation college attendees from ethnic minorities and among them are some of the brightest students I have ever known.