Hi, I'm Joshua

I live in Pittsburgh, PA, went to school at Pitt, have a B.S. in biotechnology and a masters in Human Genetics (focusing in Longevity, Genetic Diseases, Bioinformatics and Computational Genomics). I would like to get a doctorate in immunology or virology, but I am still looking for a good program. I would love to study abroad. Some of the stuff they get away with in China, India, Japan and Korea makes me long to work in a laboratory there.

I took some time off from school to work, held a good job at Pitt for about three years doing vaccine research, but the market for molecular biology technicians is really down right now in this area, and I presently don't have the money to relocate for better work.

I'm interested in a lot of topics on this site, but I'm kind of floating about right now. I was really into G+ for awhile, but that community seems to be fading out, and imgur just has no substance, although I do enjoy checking in on it a few times a day. I'm really looking for some place I can have more cerebral discussions, and this seems like it might be that kind of place.

I'm a social libertarian, but I'm an economic mutualist. I'm spiritual, but I follow the Rudyard Kipling school of travelling alone. I think if any spiritual institution on this planet had any real answers, the communities that follow them wouldn't be in such dire situations.

Anyway. I enjoy this era of human history, the internet, some tech, science, the recession of oppressive religions and governments. I believe that humanity is on a crescendo right now, and I can't wait to witness the peak.

a reply to: Nechash

Hi Joshua, welcome to the site. Hope you enjoy your time here.

a reply to: Nechash

Hi there Joshua and Welcome to ATS !

Good intro !!

Have fun & enjoy !!!

a reply to: Nechash

Welcome to ATS...enjoy the ride.

Des

Great intro, welcome

CD

Welcome to ATS dude!

a reply to: Nechash

Hi Joshua i see your credentials, most impressive, but i cant help but to think you would be in need of nano tech to lead the way in the future...

well to lead the way for mainstream science anyway...

a reply to: Nechash

Fantastic and welcome. With your background perhaps you can help thrash out some of the BS around the ebola
doom porn threads.

a reply to: 5StarOracle

Nano tech is probably the height of mechanical engineering as a practice, but I'd be really interested in seeing actual genetic engineering as a practice as in manipulating the genome of a tree so that you plant it and grow a house. That would be awesome and would solve the housing crisis overnight. lol.

a reply to: olaru12

Ebola/Marburg is terrifying when you think about the liquefaction of organs and things like that, but this is literally the worst outbreak in human history already and we are only talking about a handful of people. Spanish flu killed millions in 1913. I seriously doubt ebola will ever take that many, especially outside of tropical areas. Up until now it has been very hard to even get funding to study it because of how limited its scope was. I know of more people studying Rift Valley Fever than Ebola, which is kind of weird when you think about it.

a reply to: Nechash

Hi Joshua....

welcome to ATS...

what is this Rudyard Kipling school of travelling alone you speak of?

a reply to: combatmaster

In several of his poems and short stories he touches on his ideas of what it means to be a good person and these are much more nuanced than anything you'll see in the Mitzvahs of the old testament, especially his poem "If." The travelling alone part is a reference to another of his poems where he explicitly states,

"Down to Gehenna or up to the Throne,
He travels the fastest who travels alone."

I believe this is an allegory for a mystical seeker. Those who follow in the traditions of their secret societies can only climb as high as their founders did, but the seeker who travels alone is unlimited and he can soar like Apollo blazing across the sky to wherever the road he is on might lead him.

a reply to: Nechash

interesting!

Howdy and welcome Joshua!


This is indeed one of the more cerebral forums you will find on the interwebs but still, most of us can't touch your credentials.

I didn't see you mention reddit in your search, might i suggest giving it a shot as well. Some of the smaller sub-reddits are quite impressive.

Enjoy your stay here; i look forward to your contributions.

Cheers my friend!

a reply to: soulshn

I do appreciate reddit and I get on there from time to time onto the subreddits when I am looking for resources for something specific, but I've yet to find a community there that really held my attention for very long. This site seems wonderful, it has tons of different topics and people discussing all sorts of angles.

One of the things I like to do is to formulate possible points of view other than the normal dichotomy most people's thinking forces them into and this site has really blown the lid off of my head. Some of the things people come up with are amazingly inventive.

I believe that the truth is not generally one simple point of view, but a thorough understanding and synthesis of several perspectives. In fact, I think the more perspectives you can get on an issue, the better you understand it and the more real that issue becomes for you.

Thanks for the welcome and I will do my best to give reddit another shot shortly.

a reply to: Nechash

That would be interesting enough indeed, but I was thinking more along the lines of usefulness for your intrest in longevity as well the elimination of disease...

a reply to: 5StarOracle

True enough, there is a great deal of potential there in the future for curing diseases and for longevity. Robotics, algorithms and electronics are a world away from the things I'm familiar with. I've built a computer and toyed around with Python, C+ and Linux, and I've done some basic circuitry for fun, but I'm not even familiar enough about those professions to realize how far yet I would need to learn to get into nano stuff.

I think that when the marriage of technology and molecular biology happens it will be the dawn of a new age for medicine. I just don't know if that will happen in my lifetime and I'm pretty sure that I won't be a part of it, as interesting as it does sound.

A professor of mine at school was doing work with fullerine on a chemical level as a drug delivery vehicle and as an anti-oxidant to prevent free radical build-up in the blood stream. That is probably the closest I have ever come to anything remotely nano-tech in my lifetime.

a reply to: Nechash

I hear you loud and clear...
however i feel the accelerated curve of scientific growth puts this well within your lifetime...
I do aplaud your humble honesty and look forward to your valuable opinion in future threads...