Lonelygirl15

[Bif Nasty]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=8841581&dopt=Abstract

Ok, I'm not 100 % sure what this means, but I think this proves my point. Jason, the med student, sent this my way.

[impulse]

[impulse]

[Bif Nasty]

Yeah, like I said, it was a shot in the dark. I am a english major. Med student told me it would work. I think he made me look dumb.
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I am the Question. The Question has no face, no history. The Question will find the answer.

[Haether]

[Haether]

[Haether]

[Ruberic]

Going back to answer "Does it always work":

As answered above. No, but it is interesting in theory. We have a lot of interesting leads, just none that we can duplicate with any accuracy that would lead to a medical use at this time.

Ocham's Razor:

Actually, going to Lurker's point, this is not an inconsistency with the plot; rather, it is an inconsistency of the Father's story.

Epogen was found in Bree's house, the Order's storage facility, etc. The father stated that the medication he was giving her was to make her trait negative...yet he SEEMS to have been giving her the medication that the Order had been stocking. This is the part that is not matching up.

There is nothing suggestion that Bree's father was injecting her with anything other than Epogen. There is simply NO proof to substantiate this. Also, the finding of LOADS of epogen in the Order's facility indicates that this is what they wanted to inject Bree with. So the two stories don't match, or epogen is used to make someone trait negative, and the order wants whatever trait that was found in Bree to be supressed.

Following the clues (and the fact that Epogen seems to be a drug of choice for the Order), she most likely is being injected with Epogen.

FURTHERING this theory is that I have found no research (in Pubmed, nor could my colleague in hematology) that suggests any study indicating what could SUPRESS a ribozyme. Epogen does NOT seem to be a depression medication for the ribozyme in question (though, to be truthful, no studies have been performed indicating either way). [quick edit for clarity: I have found no research indicating drug studies that could be used to limit this ribozymes activity. we do know how to supres some ribozymes, but no medication studies have been published to medications utilized to limit ribozyme in question...back to my regularly posted rant]

So...goes back to my questioning the letter and the motive of the father.

Hope SOME of this made sense. I only have a few seconds to write this.
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Order in your life is meant to build strength and confidence. Without the order, there is chaos. The order, in life, is necessary.

[Ankhet]

I'm new, a lurker. I just wanted to post this link. I was looking for ribozyme structural formulas and I found this image. It looks alot like the drawing in Bree's dad's notebook.
http://journals.iucr.org/d/issues/2003/01/00/pu0076/pu0076fig1.html

[sack36]

[Ankhet]

The one thing I don't get is what could hairpin ribozymes have to do with Bree being trait negative or positive? They are found in plant viruses. What could Bree's dad have been doing with a virus?

[luzdzus]

I'm thinking that the Bree factory adds a few extra genes to produce hairpin ribozymes to their products, then checks up on the girls to see what levels are present. The occasional girl will show extremely high levels and be put on epogen to increase her chances of surviving blood loss. Mr. Bree would have been giving her epogen on the Order's orders, and something extra of his own to try to reduce her ribozyme levels. Now that she's back in the Order's arms, she's back on the epogen.

I still think the ceremony must involve massive blood loss, probably to the point of near death. Maybe the ribozymes kick into gear at that point, modifying the ceremony girl's genetics and turning her into something or someone else. Ghod only knows what .
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Whatever happened to that girl Julie?

[JanaL]

I know there is a lot of talk about Ribozymes here, but I thought I'd add a little extra info I haven't seen yet.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordo_Templi_Orientis

If you click this link, you will find the Ordo Templi Orientis, which was lead by Aleister Crowley. This is a direct quote from the page..

" O.T.O. membership is based on an initiatory system with a series of degree ceremonies that use ritual drama to establish fraternal bonds and impart spiritual and philosophical teachings."

If you scroll down the page, the O.T.O was also referred to as "The Order".

It also states further down the page..

" It also enables each man to discover for himself his personal destiny, indicates the moral and intellectual qualities which he requires in order to fulfil it freely, and finally puts in his hands an unimaginably powerful weapon which he may use to develop in himself every faculty which he may need in his work."

I have probably put too much of useless information into this post.. but I thought I would share since I thought it was interesting. If you continue to scroll down the page you will find the History of O.T.O and it's levels. I don't know, check it out if you like.

[JustAnotherLonelyGirl.]