12.01.12
The many intrigues of John McAfee
To Hide and Hide Not is a good title. Trust me.
A two-year old article on McAfee in Fast Company, revolving around the anti-virus tycoon’s ludicrous research in Belize into an anti-bacterial he called Quorumex.
An excerpt:
McAfee explained that infectious bacteria become dangerous only when they multiply to a certain concentration, at which point, thanks to a process called “quorum sensing,” they collectively shift to a pathogenic mode. The signal that modulates this response is a certain chemical pheromone — if a drug can block its action, the bacteria will never become dangerous. And because no bacteria are killed, the accelerated evolution that results in antibiotic resistance never occurs.
Yes, all bacteria are good little pups until they agree, in a big group, not to be. Quite.
While the reporter isn’t quite up enough on science to immediately call bullshit, he does get at it another way in looking at the man’s history and ways prior to his arrival in Belize.