The Penicillin of Viruses

You know what can turn an oh-my-god-can't-write-to-save-my-life day into a fairly nice one? Good Science News. Promising discoveries! Hope for our Cure-The-Sickness related future!

That's what happened when I found this article on MIT news. A team of researcher from the MIT Lincoln's laboratory developped a new drug that can identify cells infected by virus and terminate them. And that, my friend, is full of awesome.

The Problem with Treating Viruses

Viruses have this badass and terrifying strategy in which they infect the host's cells, hijack their resources and begin to multiply. The cell does have a few defenses to prevent this, but most viruses have found ways to bypass and counter these. Otherwise they wouldn't, you know, still exist.

The point is that once the virus is inside the host cell, it becomes difficult to distinguish from the non-infected cells. We manage to develop specific drugs for specific viruses by hindering their unique ways to act, but viruses have such a vast array of techniques and molecules that it is almost impossible to produce one drug that affects them all.

That is what the MIT's lab achieved. One drug for most viruses.

How the hell?

OK. This is the science part. Let's try and keep it simple. Every cell has DNA, on which we have carry genetic information. In order to access that information, we create an RNA molecule (think of it as a close-cousin of DNA) from the DNA, which is then read and transformed into a protein.

DNA is double-stranded in humans -- you've all seen the double helix image. RNA, however, is single stranded. Just one long string that twists.

Basic human scheme:  Double stranded DNA --> Single stranded RNA --> Protein

Here are the key points.
1. There is never any double stranded RNA in the human process.
2. There is almost always double stranded RNA in the viral duplication.

Todd Rider's drug identifies cells with double-stranded RNA inside them and hits their self-destruct button.*

 Magic!

And you know the best thing about this drug? It's called DRACO. Not just for fun. The acronym means something. It is also badass.

They tested the drug against influenza (your day-to-day cold) and dengue fever (a cousin of Ebola), and it worked. These are two very very very different viruses. At the moment they're trying DRACO on other viruses in mice before moving to bigger animals, and eventually humans. So it's not ready or finished yet, but one can hope.

And for those of you who want to see more of the science, the drug's action mecanism is explained in more details in the article. Plus pictures of their tests. It's neat!

*Yes, there is such a thing in cells. It's one of the most broken mecanism of cancer cells. Self-destruct buttons: not as useless as in sci-fi movies.

Hello, TMI Underwear Meme

It's caught up. The Underwear Meme is here, passed along by Margo. The first thing I discovered was that my undy-related vocabulary was severely lacking. Terms like 'drawers' and 'long johns' were not part of my daily usage. Mistake corrected.

The second thing I found was that this was a hilarious game and I wasn't going to back down from it. Off we are!

What do you call your drawers?

Bobettes!  That's kind of Quebec's version of 'undies'. Bobette.

Do you have any commonly used nicknames for them?
... Bobette! No nickname. When you have a word as fun as bobette to say, you stick with it. Bobette bobette bobette!

Have you ever had that supposedly common dream of being in a crowded place in only your bloomers?

That's a common dream?  Man, you people dream about weird things. I'll stick to my vomitting monsters nighttime fancies. Also, that sounded way too dirty.

What is the worst thing you can think of to make long johns out of?

In vitro skin tissue. I don't think I need to explain how disgusting that'd be.

If you were a pair of small clothes, what color would you be, and WHY?

Phosphorescent orange. I'd absorb the light present when you put me on and spend my day lighting your ass. Yeah, I'd be a LOOK AT ME pair of small clothes. Why? I don't know. I like to embarass others in harmless fashion.


Have you ever thrown your bloomers at a rock star or other celebrity? If so, which one(s)? If not, which one(s) WOULD you throw your bloomers at, given the opportunity?

... I don't think I'd ever do that. Which is ironic, considering how much of a groupie I can be. Although I might throw my small clothes at Johnny Depp if doing so was a sure way to enjoy a short exchange in French with him. You can't resist his accent when he does.

Might also throw a pair of small clothes with a tiny rock in it close to Andy Serkis, see if I can make him believe there's a precious in it.

You’re out of clean drawers. What do you do?

Assassinate the President of the United States. What do you think happened to all those other blokes who got killed? Dirty drawers are a plague to humanity.

Are you old enough to remember Underoos? If so, did you have any? Which ones?

I think I'm neither old enough, nor in the right geographical region. Upon googling it... O.o Woah. Poor kids.

If you could have any message printed on your long johns, what would it be? 

Peel to reveal canadian surrealist porn. *
 
How many bloggers does it take to put small clothes on a goat? 

One, and her name is chomsky-rabbit. We know from experience. ... writing experience!

That was it! Undy fun. Now who to pass the meme to...

First, to chomsky herself. I mean, she's part of the answers. She's got to give her own now!
Second, to LG at Bards and Prophet, who had it twice already but has yet to answer. We're waiitiing! ;)
Third, to Tricia at TL Conway Writes Here. Because... well, because I want to.

Finally, you guys should check out Caitlin's (from Logically) answers. They are hilarious.

*If you don't get this one, refer to the comments of this post.

Blogging Love Day

Last week I received the Liebster Blog Award from the wonderful Sarah McCabe. There is no good excuses not to move over there and check her out. I mean, come on, if you do so now, you will be welcomed with the funniest picture of Shakespeare ever. You do want that, don't you?

It isn't the first time I see this award in the blogosphere, and I love the idea behind it. The goal of the award is to spotlight up and coming bloggers who currently have less than 200 followers. What's not to love about highlighting awesome folks who deserve more bloggy friends?

The rules of the award are:

   1. Thank the giver and link back to the blogger who gave it to you.  (Thank you, Sarah!)
   2. Reveal your top 5 picks and let them know by leaving a comment on their blog.
   3. Copy and paste the award on your blog.
   4. Have faith that your followers will spread the love to other bloggers.
   5. And most of all - have bloggity-blog fun! (Check check check!)

Choosing who to pass the award is always the best and hardest part. Especially when half the folks you know got it already, ah! I'm splitting my award-giving in two categories. All of which fit in one category: Fantasy Devotee. 'cause Sarah called me that, and I think it should be an official title. There.

Shiny Dragon Header and Awesome Blogger

Taylor Roseberry at The Pen is Mightier. I met Taylor during last NaNoWriMo. I can't recall how, but I know we ended up pushing the last days together. A bond was formed, and it so happens he has a great blog with a super shiny header. Sarah tagged him for this already, but he hasn't answered. So there. You have no choice.

Anastasia at Labotomy of a Writer. Another Fantasy Devotee, another incredible header and tons of great posts. She just moved her blog from one site to another, and I think she deserves a renewal in love!

Self-Pubbed and Awesom

Two of my Wicked & Tricksy acolytes have or will launched themselves into self-publishing. I don't think they get near enough love (although I'm not sure I'd ever think they would) and while I'm aware I've pointed in their directions before, well, I'm doing it again. There.

First there's Margo, the Evil Mastermind of Urban Psychopomp and Unsafe Haven, who published the norse urban fantasy short story Dís this summer. Urban Psychopomp is full of incredible writing advice (and undy-talk, apparently), and Unsafe Haven is oriented toward the mythology behind Margo's stories. Both should be bookmarked.

Second there's SB, Great Scott* Overlord of Writing the Other. His historical fantasy novel, Forgotten Gods, will hit the virtual shelves on Sept 17th, and I'm dying for a fast-forward button. Oh, and you know what's best? His co-author, Michael Jay Chernicoff, decided to get his own blog. Watch that space, people! I predict awesomeness.

Whew, I think that's it! Sorry about the lack of recent posts. Camp NaNo is kicking my ass, and I'm fighting back.

*Did you hear Doc from Back to the Future in your head? Cause I sure do.

Juggling With Projects - How Much of A Multitasking Writer Are You?

photo credit: Matthew Bietz

Before I started writing, I couldn't imagine a writer working on more than one story at a time. While I had no idea of the actual scope of efforts and time writing demanded, I knew it was at least "a lot", and it didn't possible to stretch one's mind on two or three projects at once.

Fast-forward a few years later. I started roleplaying and realised I could hold more than one story in my head at once. It still wasn't writing, but I think life was trying to prepare me for the truth.

Today I alternate between six different WIPs. I tend give most of my writing time to one of them during a few months, with the occasional dabbling in another. Then the first is put on the backburner, the second becomes the main project, and a third takes the dabbler's place.*

I know, however, that not all writers work like this. The number of WIPs one consistently works with is like most other variables of the writers' journey: they vary from one person to the other.

So I'm curious, writer friends! How many WIPs do you work with? If you've got more than one, how do you usually function?

*Trying to pick the next dabbler is always tons of fun... in a very *head desk* I don't know which I prefer right now, aaaah!

Camp NaNo and A Big Thank You

Despite the coming month of August, and Camp NaNoWriMo's official launch next Monday, this week has been one of sad news for Wrimos across the planet. Every participant has received an e-mail announcing that Chris Baty, Executive Director of the OLL (NaNo's parent organisation) is stepping down this coming January.

It's hard to imagine that this man once sat with a bunch of overly caffeinated friends and decided that they would write a 50,000 word-novel in a month. They picked July that first time, and while others enjoyed cocktails next to swimming pools, they sat down and typed until their fingertips bled.

Now there's more than 200,000 participants attempting it every year, with varying degrees of success, and I know for a fact that there's a lot of these folks who think of NaNo as a life-changing event.

I wouldn't be where I am today without NaNo. I don't think I'd even be a writer. NaNoWriMo was my door to the writing world, and I know who I must thank for that.

So, thank you, Chris Baty. We'll miss you.

With that said, the NaNoWriMo programs come to a strange full-circle this year, with Camp NaNoWriMo (a lite version of the November event) taking place during July and August. I've prodded my region into joining the party, and we are now waiting for August 1^st to begin our mad typing once more.

This is my occasion to go through my last revisions (for now, I mean) of White Echoes, a related short story I've been meaning to write, and to push forward some worldbuilding for the next WIP getting my attention (I've been map drawing again!).

Also, this is my occasion to organise a real kick-ass camping trips with close friends, eat tons of marshmallows and exchange stories around a fire. It's Camp NaNoWriMo, after all! We can't stay inside all month.