Tuesday, October 10, 2017

No. CLXXVI: Gone Viral (Bacteria The Future?)

Our DNA contains roughly 100,000 pieces of viral DNA. Altogether, they make up about 8 percent of the human genome.NYT: Ancient Viruses Are Buried in Your DNA (Paywall)

Our whole worldview is antibacterial. They’re out there. Shoot to kill. Build a wall! Which makes perfect sense for the tiny percentage of microbes that make us sick, but misses the vast majority that make us what we are. — NYT: Human Cells Make Up Only Half Our Bodies. A New Book Explains Why. (Paywall)

While these may be
fake news distorts,
what if there's something
to these reports?

If we contain multitudes,
some good, some bad...
they better speak ENGLISH,
I hasten to add.

If we're conglomerated
with oodles of “ick”...
Don't know about you?
Me, I feel sick.

Far be it from me
to make a big fuss
but this raises the question
are we really us?

With these different thingies
making us whole,
ya just gotta wonder
who's in control?

Could the free will
that defines you and me
be down to the whims
of an amoeboid committee?