Subject: Re: Darwin Day 2006 -- for the Celebration of Science and Humanity!

From: "Frank Rice" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 04 Dec 2005 01:39:53 -0500

Dear Dr. Stephens,

Oops! I thought that your subject said Celebration of Sicence and
HUMILITY.  How silly of me.  I do hope that the symbols of scientific
progress will include an update about how much more science has learned
about where the atoms in the universe came from in the first place, or
where they were before they were atoms, or where "whereever that was"
was.  Also I hope for a scientific update of where the universe is
located.  Or why the existance of any of anything makes any logical
sense.  My and others extensive research in the nervous system
unequivocally demonstrates that our whole perception of reality and
logic is based on molecular interactions.  While it is intellectually
stimulating to reason how these molecules evolved into complex systems
that can think and reason, we can't logically explain where these
molecules came from place, where they are located or why they exist.  So
we can't even logically explain why we should have logic and reason. 
Seems to me that science needs a dose of humility before it can
celebrate its humanity.

If these are things that you also wish to include in a constructive
educational effort, then I would be happy to support your endeavor with
enthusiasm.  Otherwise, the way scientific thought is progressing (or
rather degressing into narrowmindedness) humanity is becoming more
worthless, and I would rather not become another slave to academic peer
pressure.

Sincerely yours,

Frank L. Rice, PhD

Frank L. Rice, PhD
Professor
Center for Neuropharmacology
     and Neuroscience
Room MS-538
Albany Medical College
47 New Scotland Avenue
Albany NY 12208

phone:  518-262-5384
fax:         518-262-5799
e-mail:  [email-masked]
>>> "Dr.R.Stephens" <[email-masked]> 12/03/05 7:27
AM >>>
Dear Professor,

As a fellow scientist and educator, you may already realize that 
Darwin's 200th birthday will occur on February 12, 2009. Our 'Darwin 
Day' project is a nonprofit organization designed to promote an 
International Celebration of Science and Humanity each year on, or near,

Feb. 12th as we approach 2009. Darwin and the theory of evolution are 
being used as symbols of scientific progress. Our goal is to achieve a 
Global Celebration by 2009. Currently, celebrations for February 2006 
are being registered and publicized on our Website darwinday.org .

We invite you to visit our Website at darwinday.org -- and then, 
consider joining many others in this constructive educational effort. 
Our Website offers several ways to participate and also contains 
extensive information to assist you in developing ideas for a Darwin Day

celebration that is suitable for your unique circumstances.

Darwin Day supporters and advisors include prominent scientists, 
educators, philosophers, and writers such as: Patrick Bateson (Provost, 
Kings College, Cambridge University), Edward O. Wilson (Harvard 
University), Richard Dawkins (Oxford University), Daniel C. Dennett 
(Tufts University), Steven Pinker (Harvard University), Helena Cronin 
(London School of Economics), Eugenie Scott (National Center for Science

Education), Steve Jones (University College, London), and many others. 
We encourage you to join them and become an enthusiastic participant in 
this project.

Sincerely yours,

Robert J. ("Bob") Stephens, Ph. D.
Emeritus Director, Cell Biology Program
SRI International (formerly Stanford Research Institute)
President, Darwin Day Celebration, a nonprofit, tax-deductible 501(c)3
corp.
http://darwinday.org

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---

From: Nicholas Crispe <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 12 Dec 2005 15:42:10 -0500

Here's what would make me uneasy about the DNA injection strategy. 
The T cell system is adapted to respond to neo-antigens expressed on 
cells, while the B cell system is optimized to make antibody against 
particulate antigens. What we need for good immunity to the Killer 
Flu is neutralizing antibody, not a cytotoxic T cell response. 
Neo-self antigens drive CD8+ T cells wild,  but I don't think they're 
documented as driving good antibody responses. I would want my flu B 
cell antigens complexed with a T-helper cell antigen, in a discrete 
particle. Pseudotyping a harmless virus vector might be the way to 
go, or weaving the flu epitopes into a highly immunogenic vaccine 
such as HBV.

>Dear Dr. Crispe,
>
>Thank you for a good laugh! 
>
>No, we hadn't envisioned any science holidays beyond a Darwin Day 
>celebration, but now that you suggest those others, with those 
>alliterative names, ....   ;-)
>
>Actually, there are some people advocating Newtonmas on December 25, 
>because that was Newton's birthday.  We take no position on that one.
>
>   - Info Person at DarwinDay.org
>
>P.S.  More seriously, I hope you are sharing any creative ideas on 
>how to produce strain-specific vaccines to influenza.  The most 
>intriguing to me is the one where we'd inject customized coat 
>protein DNA into people, let their cells produce the antigen, and 
>have the body develop immunity to this foreign protein in the usual 
>ways.
>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>On Decembver 1, Nicholas Crispe wrote:
>
>>Re: Darwin Day 2006 -- for the Celebration of Science and
>>No doubt you also envisage a Mendel month, and a Watson and Crick weekend.
>>
>>
>>>Dear Professor,
>>>
>>>Darwin's 200th birthday will occur on February 12, 2009. Our 
>>>'Darwin Day' project is a nonprofit organization designed to 
>>>promote an International Celebration of Science and Humanity each 
>>>year on, or near, Feb. 12th as we approach 2009. Darwin and the 
>>>theory of evolution are being used as symbols of scientific 
>>>progress. Our goal is to achieve a Global Celebration by 2009. 
>>>Currently, celebrations for February 2006 are being registered and 
>>>publicized on our Website darwinday.org .
>>>...
>>>
>>--
>>
>>
>>Ian Nicholas Crispe, MB BS PhD
>>Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
>>Associate Director, David H. Smith Center
>>	for Vaccine Biology and Immunology
>>The University of Rochester
>>601 Elmwood Avenue
>>Rochester, NY 14642
>>tel: 585-273-5647
>>fax: 585-273-2452

-- 

Ian Nicholas Crispe, MB BS PhD
Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Associate Director, David H. Smith Center
	for Vaccine Biology and Immunology
The University of Rochester
601 Elmwood Avenue
Rochester, NY 14642
tel: 585-273-5647
fax: 585-273-2452

---

From: Ellen Holtman <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 03 Jan 2006 16:19:29 -0500

Hi.  Just in case it's important, note that Donna Cooper's email came to 
me.  EH

At 04:08 AM 12/6/2005, you wrote:
>Dear Donna Cooper,
>
>As we move closer to Darwin's bicentennial birthday on February 12, 2009 
>more and more college and university science clubs are joining the annual 
>International Darwin Day Celebration of Science and Humanity! If you have 
>not previously participated we hope that 2006 will be the year you join in 
>the fun and informal education.
>
>Science clubs have begun to establish yearly traditions by joining with 
>the department of science with which they are affiliated, to put on annual 
>Darwin Day EVENTS. Here are a few examples:
>    * 
> <http://facstaff.uww.edu/mckinnoj/uwwdarwinday2005.html>http://facstaff.uww.edu/mckinnoj/uwwdarwinday2005.html 
> and note that when you go to the bottom of their announcement page and 
> click on Biological Sciences, that the whole faculty is featured -- while 
> the NavBar at the top of the page contains "Darwin Day" among other links.
>    * Another college that has a long tradition of Celebrating Darwin is 
> Salem State College 
> <http://www.salemstate.edu/%7Epkelly/darwin>http://www.salemstate.edu/%7Epkelly/darwin 
> . Clearly their events have had significant support.
>    * Darwin Day at UC Berkeley has become an even more elaborate event 
> and last year involved the famous Essig Museum of Entomology: 
> <http://essig.berkeley.edu/pages/darwin.htm>http://essig.berkeley.edu/pages/darwin.htm 
> .
>    * Finally the Univ. of Tennessee has a well established Darwin Day: 
> <http://eeb.bio.utk.edu/darwin>http://eeb.bio.utk.edu/darwin .
>Many additional examples can be found on our Website 
><http://darwinday.org>http://darwinday.org!
>
>The increasing response to the idea of celebrating Darwin, Science, and 
>Humanity appears to be at least partially due to attempts to discredit the 
>scientific theory of evolution with superstition and pseudo-science. It's 
>time for science to respond creatively -- and now is the time to begin 
>planning for the Darwin Day Celebration for 2006! Please take a little 
>time to visit our Website darwinday.org where we maintain extensive 
>information that will help you plan your EVENT.
>
>The staff here at darwinday.org has been very busy this past year and we 
>are pleased to report that the DarwinDay organization has greatly improved 
>its Website and our ability to communicate with large numbers of people. 
>This ability will allow us to encourage the development of many more 
>Darwin Day Celebrations worldwide. Please take time to read the new 
>information we have recently posted, and that will be frequently updated 
>on the DarwinDay home page under 'Don't Miss These Current Articles.'There 
>are also improvements to be found in most sections of the Website. For 
>instance under "News & Views" we have recently added statements and essays 
>that support evolution and the need to celebrate Darwin, Science and 
>Humanity -- so do take a little time to browse!
>
>Another goal that we hope to achieve during the remainder of this year and 
>throughout 2006 is to translate our Website into a number of additional 
>languages so that the international nature of the festivities will be even 
>more of a reality. I'm pleased to report that this process has begun and 
>our first postings will come later this year.
>
>Finally we have introduced a section on the Home page about 'Two 
>Emancipators', born on the same day in the same year: Abraham Lincoln, 
>emancipator of the American slaves, and Charles Darwin, emancipator of the 
>human mind. This item is further developed in an essay available from our 
>home page at <http://darwinday.org>http://darwinday.org .
>
>
>Sincerely yours,
>
>President, Darwin Day Celebration, a nonprofit, tax-deductible 501(c)3 corp.
><http://darwinday.org>http://darwinday.org
>
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