Monday, May 26, 2008

Interview Transcript due Wednesday!

Please post on the blog!

5 comments:

  1. > 1.What made you interested in immortality?

    I don't work on immortality, I work on defeating aging. I don't work on stopping people from dying in road accidents and so on. This is a really important distinction, especially for people who worry that my work might be contrary to the will of God or something. So - I'm interested in defeating aging because aging kills people! And kills most of them really horribly, after a long period of debilitation and disease! The amazing thing is that not everyone is interested in this, when they have no problem being very interested in things that kill far fewer people.

    > 2.When did you start to study it?

    Around 1995.

    > 3.What was the reaction of the people who found out that you were
    > studying this?

    Nothing much actually - they didn't think I would have any success, and I was only doing it in my spare time at first, so no one took it very seriously.

    > 4.Did anyone in your family study it before you? Dad? Mom?

    No.

    > 5.What was your motivation behind finding immortality?

    See above - I want to save lives.

    > 6.What do you still need and want to figure out about it?

    Quite a lot of research is still needed before we can implement all the therapies we will need in order to postpone aging indefinitely in humans. In fact, quite a lot is needed before we can delay aging a lot even in mice, which is the first step. At the moment, though, all that's needed to get that research done is a small amount of money - a few hundred million dollars, so a tiny proportion of the US health budget. The scientists who are world leaders in all the relevant fields are interested in applying their skills to this problem, so that's not a barrier.

    > 7.Is your whole life devoted to your research?

    Yes.

    > 8.How much research have you done?

    I don't physically do research myself - the Methuselah Foundation, which I chair, doesn't have its own lab. Instead, we receive donations from the public and we pass that money on to top scientists in universities, who do the research.

    > 9.Do you wish you could have immortality yourself?

    I definitely don't want to get Alzheimer's, cancer, heart disease and so on, and at the moment I think there is a lot I'd like to do with my life, which will take a long time. But I don't actually know if I want to live to 1000, or even to 100. What I do know is that I definitely want to make the choice about living to 100 when I'm 99, rather than having that choice gradually removed from me by my declining health.

    > 10. Do you work with a whole team of people researching?

    See above. Within the Foundation we have a small team of administrators, scientists reviewing the published academic literature, fundraisers etc. The research is done in universities, under the supervision of professors that we fund.

    Cheers, Aubrey


    molly, period 7

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  2. Sleepwalking interview questions

    1. What influenced you to become a sleep disorder doctor?
    Many patients with sleep disorders had no where to go to recieve proper care.

    2. What was one of your most interesting cases involving sleepwalking?
    A young women walking to the kitchen at night and eating some food leaving a mess
    behind and not remembering the events.

    3. About how many sleepwalking patients a year do you think your clinic sees?
    About 10.

    4. What do you think is the major cause for sleepwalking?
    Sleepwalking is due to partial arousal from deep sleep, called Delta sleep,with the individual has some level of consciousness but not fully aware of the surroundings. The brain waves recording still shows remanents of delta sleep.

    5. What treatment do you think is the most successful for helping a patient to stop or reduce sleepwalking?
    The first and foremost measure is to secure the environment so the person cannot harm herself or himself. The medical treatment is medication that consolidates sleep and lowers the threshold for
    arousal.

    6. Are the majority of the patients that you see in your clinic older or
    younger?
    Younger

    7. How long have you been studying sleep disorders?
    20 years

    8. In your opinion, do people usually grow out of sleepwalking?
    Majority will outgrow sleepwalking before adolescence but ther are some that continue to
    experience sleepwalking and sleeptalking into adulthood.

    9. Do a lot of your patients get injured while sleepwalking?
    Some have had injuries.

    Melissa
    period 7

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  3. 1. What operating system do you run at home? XP

    2. What is your opinion on Vista? Its new and it needs a lot memory to run. So for an older computer it wouldn’t work well.

    3. What do you think is the best OS? XP professional

    4. Will you ever upgrade to Vista? NO

    5. Have you worked with Vista? If so, how was it? Yes the new look took a bit to get use too. I think its fine for home use. I haven't tried in a network domain environment.

    6. Have you worked with Linux? If so, how was it?

    7. Have you worked with Mac? If so, how was it? Yes I grew up on the older Mac Os. I like it because the hardware and the operating system was by the same company.

    8. If you are forced to upgrade to Vista, what would you do? I would probably buy a new computer that would be able to handle it.

    9. What do you recommend to do if people don't want Vista? I don't think they have a choice when they buy one. I guess you can try putting a Linux platform on.

    10. What do you think is going to happen to Microsoft? Get bigger. People are always going to buying new computers.

    Brendan, Period 7

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  4. Sickle Cell Anemia:
    Interview Questions

    1. What effect has this had on your employment?

    > I don't currently work now. I have been retired for a few years now. Having this disease made me retire much earlier than I expected.

    2. How long do you experience the symptoms? How long do they usually last for?

    >Usually from time to time. I thankfully only only mild symptoms of sickle cell.

    3. How often do you see the doctor for checkups?

    >Since I only have a mild case of sickle cell I only go to the doctor about once every month. I go for blood transfusion and to get insulin.

    4. What kind of exercise do you get? Do you have any trouble participating in physical activities?

    >Since I have bad bone pain I go to physical therapy frequently. I love it there because that is where I like to get my exercise. I also like to take walks with my wife - but short.

    5. Do you have to take any medications? If so, how often do you have to take them?

    >Yes. I do take to take medication. Fortunately, I only have to take a few. I take them everyday to help relieve my symptoms.

    6. Do you get tired very easily?

    >Very, very easily. I have to constantly try and keep myself awake! I am an old person, but having this disease makes me extra tired! That is one of the most popular symptoms among sickle cell anemia.

    7. Are you involved or apart of any orginizations dealing with this disease?

    >As a matter of fact, I am. I help out and am apart of the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America or (SCDAA). I also donate a lot of money to help other more critical sickle cell patients.

    8. What is a normal day like for you?

    >A normal day for me is basically resting and taking my meds! I also love going for walks, as I said before and reading.

    9. How often do you have joint or muscle pain?

    > Every once in a while I have pain. Usually everyday almost.. but physical therapy has helped me out a lot and regular doctor checkups.

    10. How do you feel about the new 'cord blood banking' for blood transfusion?

    >I honestly think it is a great idea! I think it can possibly help and save young lives of sickle cell patients. Hopefully, this will become successful in the future and we can find a cure for sickle cell anemia.

    Jesse Brown
    Sickle Cell Patient

    Kiana,Period 5

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  5. Ryan Per.8
    Interveiw with Drew Thomas

    1)What is your definition of a perfect illusion?
    ANY ILLUISION THAT CONVINCES YOUR AUDIENCE THAT IS COULD BE REAL.

    2) Do you believe illusions are important in the real world.
    ABSOLUTELY. MUCH LIKE MOVIES OR A GREAT BOOK THEY HELP US TO ESCAPE AND BELIEVE IN THE IMPOSSIBLE.

    3) Why are illusions so intriguing to people?
    BECAUSE PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW HOW THE IMPOSSIBLE IS MADE TO LOOK SO POSSIBLE

    4) How do illusions work?
    THIS IS NOT AS MUCH SCIENCE AS IT IS AN ART FORM BASED ON THE COMPLEX UNDERSTANDING TECHNIQUES USED FOR CREATING THE ILLUSION OF REALITY.

    5)Are there any illusions in the real world that you are amazed by? If so why?
    THERE ARE TO MANY TO LIST BUT A FEW THAT COME TO MIND ARE THE SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD AND OTHER SUCH SUPER STRUCTURES. WHETHER IT IS AN ENORMOUS SUSPENSION BRIDGE, THE MYSTERY OF HOW THEY BUILT THE PYRAMIDS OR THE FULLY AUTOMATED STAGE IN CIRQUE DE SOLIEL’S KA MANY INCREDIBLE AND SEEMINGLY UNBELIEVABLE ILLUSIONS ARE SEEN DAILY AROUD THE WORLD IN SCIENCE, ART, ENTERTAINMENT, ARCHITECTURE AND NATURE.

    6)Have you ever performed any illusions yourself.
    YES I AM A PROFESSIONAL ILLUSIONIST.

    7)What inspired you to research illusions?
    IT WAS A NATURAL DIRECTION BASED UPON MY HUGE INTEREST IN MAGIC.

    8)Who’s your favorite illusionist? Why?
    WITHOUT A DOUBT DAVID COPPERFIELD. ALTHOUGH HE HAS TAKEN A BACK SEAT TO OTHERS RECENTLY HE IS BY FAR THE MOST IMAGINIATIVE, ORIGINAL AND
    INFLUENTAL ILLUSIONIST IN THE HISTORY OF MAGIC.

    9)Knowing how illusions work, is it hard to watch someone perform them without saying how they do it?
    NO. IT IS MUCH MORE INTERESTING TO SEE HOW THEY INCORPORATE ILLUSION INTO THEIR STORY AND MAKE IT ORIGINAL AND INTERESTING.

    10)Do you still find interest in learning more about illusions?
    YES ABSOLUTELY. ALMOST EVERYDAY I AM WORKING ON CREATING NEW AND EXCITING ILLUSIONS. AFTERALL…MY BUSINESS IS THE IMPOSSIBLE AND MAKING IT HAPPEN IS A DREAM COME TRUE.

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