Andromeda Strain?????

Question

Describe and explain one experiment they set up at Wildfire to try to gather information. Be sure to include a detailed description and results to the particular experiment.

THIS IS WORTH 50 POINTS...BUT A SPECIFIC ANSWER IS NEEDED!!!

Answer 1

I think you should read the book for yourself.  It is a good book and fun to read.  Try it.

Answer 2

Crichton's "Andromeda Strain" is one of the few books I've read from cover to cover in one sitting.  The premise is this, don't treat viruses lightly even if they are extraterrestrial in origin.

The real science is even scarier...there is a strain of subviruses called prions.  These little guys cannot be killed...period.  No amount of heat, light, toxins, etc. will kill them.  Yet they reproduce and can invade living cells, litterally destroying the cells and their higher life form in doing it.  [See source.]

The scare is that a brand of roque prion might become transmittable by air.  In which case, the mere act of breathing would carry them from life form to life form.  Today, mad cow's disease is the most well-known prion caused illness.  The good news is that MCD is not transmitted through the air...not yet.  Like viruses, prions do mutate...not only how they are transmitted, but also what life forms they attack.

Bottom line, a prion airborne disease that attacks humans will make the Andromeda Strain seem like a 72 hour case of the sniffles.

Oh, one other thing, Andromeda Strain also exemplifies Murphy's Law...if anything can go wrong, it will...like the isolation chambers that didn't isolate.