Chapter 39-3 Chemical Reactions

[Osiris]

I said he was behind it. Nik poo-pooed it.

[Arch_Will]

Hey everyone,

apologies again for not participating as much as id like to the last few weeks, however my time has been spent moving home, much like Hoff4D i see. Lol.

Only able to briefly look through forums on my phone whilst performing ones ablutions, but i digress.

fantastic episode. And excellent placement of all the growth hormones. Hmmm it was absolutely nothing to do with formic acid formaldehyde or form amine. Who'da thunk it?

i don't think it was Puck that said the rocket surgery comment, i think it was the other guy that was on the 50 cal right? Not 100%, i may need to relisten.

i believe our next chapter may depart from the Ateam here (Michael & co, exploring the wasteland. Trying to redeem themselves for a crime they did not commit, if you're in trouble and you need someone to call, better call Saul, i mean the A-team). (conversation trails off in to badly sung versions of iconic 80s Saturday morning tv shows) where was i? Oh yes... I think the next chapter we're in for the adventures of burt and riley. The post apocalyptic odd couple. A sitcom in the making.

now, to catch up on we're not dead..

[FunkyDung]

follistatin and keratin 18 on Google Scholar: http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=...&as_sdt=0%2C39
follistatin and keratin 18 on PubMed: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?...2keratin+18%22

somatropin and keratin 18 on Google Scholar: http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl...%2C39&as_sdtp=
somatropin and keratin 18 on PubMed: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?...2keratin+18%22

Hopefully those help someone with more time than I figure out a few things.

[EpiEpee]

Life has been keeping me rather busy too, but couldn't resist procrastinating some of the work to take a quick look at the follistatin info. It seems like follistatin could explain several of the features of the little ones. The one that Tanya autopsied had diminished secondary sex characteristics, and follistatin plays a role in suppressing FSH which is important for women to show the effects of puberty.

Follistatin also looks like it could be responsible, at least partially, for the tumor-riddled appearance that was mentioned. It's involved in cellular differentiation, and anytime you have a pathway where cellular growth or cellular differentiation is unchecked, you increase the risk for cancer. Also, since differentiation pathways would probably be more involved with high levels of follistatin, you would have lower-grade tumors. Lower-grade tumors don't generally metastasize as easily (exceptions always possible) which means it's not a perfect match for the "riddled" appearance. On the flip side, a lower grade generally means a better prognosis, so if the end goal is to find a cure, it may be possible to nip those sorts of tumor in the bud early in the changing process.

*tin foil hat* if you can cause a zombie cancer to go into remission, is it just a matter of time (5-10 years) before you start seeing recurrences??

Back to work for me!

[Vlarken]

That epic action music gives me the chills. It was played this episode when they're shooting the Inkling with the .50 cal, and in the season 3 finale when Michael and company fly in to the rescue of the Colony-folk. I thought it was awesome that it got played again for a suitably epic moment.

[Red Shirt]

2. Dr. William Issac Roberts: Alright! So Bill Roberts, the tattoo covered sociopath mentioned in chapter 2 and widely believe to be The One With the Markings, is a doctor/researchers at a pharmecutical company...wait WHAT? Footbutt hit this one on the nose, how many people covered in tattoos get hired as medical researchers? So unless this is another Bill Roberts we're talking about (maybe a relative, using his psychotic family member as a guinea pig?), I'm thinking the tattoos came after his arrest.
Also in the newscast back in chapter 2, Roberts was referred to as just Bill Roberts, and not Dr. William (or Bill) Roberts. So here's my guess, ol' Dr. Ink was cooking something nasty in his lab and got caught doing it. Ethics violations and police inquiries follow and pretty soon Dr. Ink is sitting in a jail cell slowly loosing his connection to reality. He rigs himself up a nice prison tattoo gun and start covering himself in signs and symbols related to his research (thinking back to the chapter 27 artwork). The victims' families that were mentioned in chapter 2, were the families of Dr. Ink's patients who probably came to him thinking they were taking part in some sort of drug trial and ended up as guinea pigs.

You see, the problem with running an illegal human clinical trial is that the rest of the medical community tends to frown on that... and they also tend to revoke your medical license too.

While still technically having a Ph.D., after losing his license, the news channels probably didn't want to give him the honorific of calling him a doctor. Also, continuously referring to him as "Doctor William I. Roberts" probably got repetitive... "Bill Roberts" or "Ink" would seem easier for news anchors to say and also easier for them to paint as sinister.

It's also possible that they weren't allowed to call him "Doctor" in news casts. The medical licensing board of California may have weighed in on that and made the request. (After all, we only heard one tiny segment of one news report.)

Ink has tatoos that cover him from head to toe. how many Pharmacutical companies do you know hire people with that many exposed tatoos?

Raydon Labs Dr. W I Roberts and Bill Roberts => Dr. Jekyl and Mr Hyde?

It might not be that far of a stretch of the imagination to think he might have been covering those tats with makeup.

AADLO
Little Behemoths
MegaInklings
Inkstoise
Inkzard......alright, I'm done

This isn't even my final form...

Seriously though, here's the thing: Was obtaining these chemicals required for the continued growth of the Inklings OR is it for the next generation of TOWTM's horrors?

[HardKor]

You see, the problem with running an illegal human clinical trial is that the rest of the medical community tends to frown on that... and they also tend to revoke your medical license too.

While still technically having a Ph.D., after losing his license, the news channels probably didn't want to give him the honorific of calling him a doctor. Also, continuously referring to him as "Doctor William I. Roberts" probably got repetitive... "Bill Roberts" or "Ink" would seem easier for news anchors to say and also easier for them to paint as sinister.

It's also possible that they weren't allowed to call him "Doctor" in news casts. The medical licensing board of California may have weighed in on that and made the request. (After all, we only heard one tiny segment of one news report.)

Good catch there. That's actually what I was going for but I apparently forgot to actually, you know, say it.
I gotta lean toward the "he had his license revoked for unethical testing" idea. If he was still a licensed doctor at the time of the broadcast, the news media would have identified him as such. They're usually pretty insistent on that kind of thing. So if the broadcast just identified him as "Bill Roberts AKA 'Ink'" I think that's a pretty strong indication that he lost his medical license (assuming, of course, that Ink and Dr. William I. Roberts are the same person. )

[Tielurrdee]

I'm only on page 4 and I'm getting a kick out of people saying how many places would hire a guy covered in tattoos in a medical facility. Haha welcome to Cali folks especially LA county. So much more common then you think. Epically bc if you are intelligent and earn degrees that is the gateway to a medical job that you are seeking regardless mostly of your looks. Also this didn't seem like a very public facility.

[Z Sniper]

As member of Victor's Mucho Macho Fan Club, Victor can have easily got on this mission. Come on, he has lost weight and could got toe to toe with Number one.

Damn straight! I've become a master of decapitation with flying tortillas!

[Z Sniper]

Come on, Victor has the girl, the looks and the talent. Ha, behind mini-gun even Hope can kill a little one. But has Robbins look one straight in the eye and then stop it with a syringe. We talk about Chuck Norris stuff here.

Sniffle-sniffle,.....I LOVE YOU MAN! Now pass me the tissue.