M. Night Shyamalan: The Happening
My head is still swimming with the images from The Happening, an M. Night Shyamalan film about what could be described as the world's immune system reacting to hostile invaders (aka. the human race). The premise is more than viable, and mirrors the host of other biological agents that humans have been assaulted by and evaded through guile or blunder, since Pandora opened her mythical box of pestilence. At Pop!Tech this year, we heard about other scenarios and harbingers of mass destruction no less plausible than this movie's plot, namely: plants may release neurotoxins to kill off humans as predators. More from the Pop!Tech 2008 blog:
- Microbe Hunting in the 21st Century: Columbia University’s Ian Lipkin works on identifying new pathogens and understanding the emergence of new diseases at the Center for Infection and Immunity
- Laurie Garrett’s big challenges: Award-winning writer Laurie Garrett witnessed firts-hand the SARS epidemic in China and the government's reaction.
- Gary Slutkin: Violence as contagion: During Slutkin’s time working as an epidemiologist for the World Health Organization, he studied diseases first-hand, including tuberculosis, cholera and AIDS. He knows what fighting disease looks like.
- Project Masiluleke: Tackling HIV with technology: spun out of a talk by HIV campaigner Zinny Thabethe at Pop!Tech 2006, Project M is attempting to wrestle back some initiative in the HIV-Aids crisis in Africa.