Recent Comments

1. about 14 years ago on Lio

   This would be a better Paul Jr. Designs than OCC build.

   As for American Chopper, it wasn’t cancelled. They just finished the AC: Sr. vs Jr season this past week,

2. about 14 years ago on Bloom County

   Cockroach farm – was that where Milqtoast came from … ?

3. over 14 years ago on Tank McNamara

   Typically the cartoonists do not do the coloring of the comics. This is usually done by someone else after the fact, as the majority of comics are drawn in black and white.

4. over 14 years ago on Tank McNamara

   Typically the cartoonists do not do the coloring of the comics. This is usually done by someone else after the fact, as the majority of comics are drawn in black and white.

5. almost 15 years ago on Doonesbury

   I went to Boston University and we could smell MIT across the Charles River. Then again, that may have just been the river.

6. almost 15 years ago on Stone Soup International Sundays

   Tinker Me said, about 11 hours ago

   If Max is 3, he should be talking by now. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   My son is 5 (almost 6) and does not talk very well. He has been diagnose with Speech Apraxia (Apraxia of Speech) and speaks at about a 1-2 year old level. This goes along with some of the other delays he has. He has a small computer which we program for him which can speak when he touches the screen and has a good sign language vocabulary. He just cannot tlak as a normal 5-6 year old. However, he is quite inteligent and can understand when people talk to him. Whether he chooses to listen is another story … .

7. almost 15 years ago on Non Sequitur

   Just to point out some things as well. If aspirin were discovered today, it likely would have approval issues for its list of potential side-effects. (http://www.medicalprogresstoday.com/spotlight/spotlight_indarchive.php?id=1039)

   Also, while were at it , lets ban DHMO [Dihydrogen Monoxide] (http://www.gumbopages.com/fridge/dmho.html).

   BTW: Dihydrogen Monoxide ==> HHOH or H20 (water). Enjoy your day!

8. almost 15 years ago on Non Sequitur

   As one biochemical research who has worked for both Big Pharma and Smaller Biotechs, I can tell you that the road to finding a NCE (new chemical entitiy) to becoming a new drug takes on average 8 - 12 years. The Drug Discovery process can easily take 2-4 years to go through all of the primary and secondary testing to make sure that the particular chemical compound is doing what it is supposed to be doing in the target biological system (in other words, that the compound is targeting the right thing). This process is really no different than finding a needle in a haystack. After all of this, then there need to be a host of pharamcological and animal testing to ensure the correct dosages and toxicology. This part could take another 1-2 years. Finally there are drug/clinical trials. The FDA requires at least 4-5 rounds of trials to ensure that it is safe on humans.

   After 20 years in the industry, I have only worked on one project that ever had a compound reach the 3rd round of clinical trials.

   We are trying to get it right the first time though, or have back-up candidates, but it is not very easy.

   Cancer drugs routinely effect different targets in the cancer pathway , so you need to find drugs that are very selective.

   Alzheihmer’s and other Nerurodegenerative diseases sometimes require drugs that can pass through the Blood-Brain Barrier. This is not a very easy thing to achieve either.

   We are doing our best, but unfortunately, this is why drug companies charge what they charge. it is not because they are being malicious, it is called ROI – return on Investment. If they do not have this money coming in, further research and drug discovery will stop.

   Personally, I think Wiley is poking fun at the start-up biotechs who often raise money from Venture Captialists and other private sources.

9. almost 15 years ago on Doonesbury

   Reminds me of the Mel Brooks “It’s Good to be the King” rap/song from History of the World, Part 1.

10. almost 15 years ago on FoxTrot

    Professor Xavier Charles is a mutant with superior mental abilities who is the leader of the X-Men. Unfortunately, he is confined to a wheelchair.