Re: [Texascavers] Cave of the Yellow Dog
I was so impressed that I decided to watch another Chinese Tibetan
propaganda film. I have forgotten the name, but it was about a group
of Chinese Possum Cops led by a Tibetan turncoat who hunt down and
kill a band of peasant poachers who are after Chiru antelope. The
scenes are harrowing, instead of happy kids at play in wildflower
meadows, it is high altitude hell where everybody's fingers fall off
and nobody can breathe. The goal is to show how horrible Tibet and
Tibetans are, and how enviros ought to support the Chinese who are
clearly superior to the benighted greedy superstitious fuzzy bunny
killing peasants. If the reality of Tibet is even remotely similar
to the frozen wasteland shown in the flick then you can cancel my
reservation!
How interesting that Han Chinese government propaganda would depict
the Tibetans as ill-adapted to their high altitude environment, when a
recent genomic study has shown that indeed the residents of the
Tibetan plateau are the only human population that has evolved to
adapt to such an environment. This study was recently published in the
journal Science ("Sequencing of 50 Human Exomes Reveals Adaptation to
High Altitude" Science 2 July 2010: Vol. 329. no. 5987, pp. 75 - 78,
DOI: 10.1126/science.1190371--many of the authors are Chinese).
The gist of the article is as follows: The Tibetan plateau has been
inhabited for around 25,000 years. It has long been observed that
people who are not native to elevations higher than 4,000 meters
respond to the lower concentration of oxygen at high altitude by
synthesizing a much larger number of red blood cells in order to
increase their hemoglobin concentration (the well-known "natural blood
doping effect"). This creates complications due to increased blood
viscosity, and can actually compromise transfer of oxygen from
hemoglobin to peripheral tissues. Native Tibetans do not display an
increased number of red blood cells, and actually appear to have a
similar number of red blood cells as people who reside at sea level.
How is this possible? The researchers found that multiple proteins in
a signaling pathway related to response to hypoxia (low oxygen) were
mutated to facilitate transfer of oxygen from hemoglobin to the
peripheral tissues at the reduced oxygen conditions found at high
elevations. Hence no need for extra red blood cells! The estimated
rate of mutations in the genes in this pathway is a faster rate of
change than previously observed for any human gene, and the authors
say this represents the strongest instance of natural selection seen
to date in the human population. Also, populations that reside at high
altitude in the Andes do not show the same changes, probably because
they haven't lived at high altitude for as long as the Tibetans.
The authors didn't address the question that immediately jumped to my
mind: what happens to Tibetans when they go to sea level? Do they lose
red blood cells?
Diana
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Diana R. Tomchick
Associate Professor
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Department of Biochemistry
5323 Harry Hines Blvd.
Rm. ND10.214B
Dallas, TX 75390-8816, U.S.A.
Email: diana.tomch...@utsouthwestern.edu
214-645-6383 (phone)
214-645-6353 (fax)
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[Texascavers] Cave of the Yellow Dog
Cave of the Yellow Dog (Mongolia), 2001, 93 min. (drama) The young daughter of a Mongolian nomadic family forms a relationship with a stray puppy, but her parents fear it will attack their sheep and won’t let her keep it. This G-rated family film provides a fascinating glimpse into nomad life. Ron I have no idea if there is a cave in the show. This is an exceedingly strange Chinese propaganda movie, and no, there is no cave. It is a Disneyesque "magical realism" portrayal of a plucky girl from a so called traditional Tibetan (Maybe mongolian? It looked like Mongolia)family spending the summer with their sheep. It is intended to show how happy and carefree life is under Chinese rule, and how both cultures can happily coexist while happy kids learn to count by piling up yak turds, but evil always lurks, for there are wolves! They are allowed to show evidence of their traditional beliefs, but you can be sure the Dalai Lama is conspicuously absent! What is completely weird is that all of the actors, who appear to be Tibetan and have Tibetan names, all speak perfect idiomatic midwestern English. At first I thought it was dubbing, but then I observed that every word on every person's lips, including those of little kids, was perfectly matched to their facial and body expressions. I focused intently, there wasn't a single slip, so the producers must have gone to extraordinary lengths. It just goes to show how intent the Chinese are on producing good propaganda. I was so impressed that I decided to watch another Chinese Tibetan propaganda film. I have forgotten the name, but it was about a group of Chinese Possum Cops led by a Tibetan turncoat who hunt down and kill a band of peasant poachers who are after Chiru antelope. The scenes are harrowing, instead of happy kids at play in wildflower meadows, it is high altitude hell where everybody's fingers fall off and nobody can breathe. The goal is to show how horrible Tibet and Tibetans are, and how enviros ought to support the Chinese who are clearly superior to the benighted greedy superstitious fuzzy bunny killing peasants. If the reality of Tibet is even remotely similar to the frozen wasteland shown in the flick then you can cancel my reservation! I got the impression that the first flick is entirely intended for Gringo audiences, and that the second, which was of much lower quality, was intended for home consumption. Both flicks are sinister, evil, and interestingly different from the propaganda to which we are accustomed. Sleazeweazel
Re: [Texascavers] Cave of the Yellow Dog
my recollection is that there wasnt particularly. interesting view of mongolia tho . . .
[Texascavers] Cave of the Yellow Dog
Cavers, For your information, the following film will be on the UT Campus Wednesday evening: Mongolian film screened: "Cave of the Yellow Dog" Description: The Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies presents its annual summer series of films from the former Soviet Bloc. This summer the theme is youth in peril, and every Wednesday we will present features that examine youth social issues. This week's screening is "Cave of the Yellow Dog" (2001). Time: Wednesday, 7-9 p.m. Location: Geography Building (GRG), Room 102 Admission: Free URL: http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/creees/events/14725 July 28: Cave of the Yellow Dog (Mongolia), 2001, 93 min. (drama) The young daughter of a Mongolian nomadic family forms a relationship with a stray puppy, but her parents fear it will attack their sheep and won't let her keep it. This G-rated family film provides a fascinating glimpse into nomad life. Ron I have no idea if there is a cave in the show.
