Constitutional Law

The trials of antiquated hotels

No wireless, and only one ethernet connection per room. It's a three bedroom suite, housing myself, Prof. Joe Olson, and Clayton and Mrs. Cramer. Clayton and I brought computers. So we have to alternate on blogging, and the three of us have to alternate reading email. I took them all (plus Bob Cottrol and my son Mark) to dinner at the finest Chinese restaurant in which I have ever eaten, The Peking Gourmet Inn. I normally eat to refuel, not to enjoy, but when in DC make an exception for that establishment.

Last night we had a series of discussions here in the room about everything under the sun. Heller, DNA identifications, general constitutional law. The most interesting, I thought, was Clayton's note that there is a genetic mutation which (by elimination a cellular port where the microrganism latches on) renders a person resistant to bubonic plague. I had heard that they did DNA work on skeletons from the period of the plague, and found that the people who lived to a long age then had this mutation. Clayton pointed out that, with the plague killing a third of Europe's population, the survivors were disproportionately of this mutation. Here's the really interesting point: the AIDS virus uses the same cellular port to attack. The result is that people with this mutation are immune to AIDS. That discovery was prompted by a fellow who contracted it 20+ years ago yet has never shown symptoms.They did his DNA work to find out whether there was something unusual about his genetics, and that finding was the outcome.

Full post as published by Of Arms and the Law on March 16, 2008 (boomark / email).