Seattle News

Archive for July, 2009

Police shot a man during an altercation in north Tacoma, said Tacoma Police Department spokesman Mark Fulghum.

The Oshkosh Air Show began this week with the arrival of Whiteknight Two, the launch aircraft for Virgin Galactic’s space tourism service. But the real aerospace future had already landed in the form of an unmanned Predator drone. The arrival marked the first flight of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to a civilian air show, requiring special FAA authorization. Drones herald pilotless flight. But more immediately, they provide a fast, inexpensive way to test new designs and materials in an industry that otherwise moves very slowly with lengthy product cycles (as with the Boeing 787). Boeing bought drone maker Insitu in July of last year.

The ostensible star of Oshkosh, Whiteknight Two, was missing not a pilot but its spaceship. (See photo.) And its spaceship, when finished, won’t actually get to space but just very high in the sky. One year ago, I wrote about how space tourism was nigh but a new space age was not. Even space tourism is turning out to be tardy: Virgin’s not even close to a hoped-for and hinted-at first launch in 2009.

While Virgin Galactic is a rerun of 1960s technology, efforts continue to realize the true space plane dream. Such a craft would take off from the ground, accelerate to 25 times the speed of sound, overpowering gravity and entering space before gliding at will back to earth.

The NewScientist recently described work on scramjets, a not very recent [PDF] technology idea which theoretically could propel a space plane. The article is optimistic but acknowledges that “some critics to liken scramjets to nuclear fusion reactors: a great idea but technically impractical.” Like fusion, scramjets might consume more energy than they produce. Still, for a highly combustive ten seconds, in 2004 a scramjet attained nearly mach 10, before blowing up, currently a kind of standard practice when operating at such extremes. The next test will aim for sustained flight at a slower but still brisk pace above mach 6. Still a ways to go.

Domino theory is back in Southeast Asia. If newly drug-tolerant malaria triumphs in that region, it will spread inexorably, subverting all of Asia before wheeling south to engulf Africa. A world-wide eradication program began in 2007 — an epic undertaking that might require half a century to achieve. Now, malaria threatens to knock out today’s first line of defense, artemisinin, leaving only already-defeated drugs or ones easily overrun by resistance. The loss of artemisinin, according to malaria researcher Arjen Dondorp, “would cause millions of deaths, without exaggeration.”

A bite from an infected mosquito transmits just a few dozen malaria parasites but, unchecked, these pollute the bloodstream with trillions of progeny. Such overwhelming infections kill about a million people each year, mostly children. Perhaps another 300 million people — the population of the United States — suffer malaria’s debilitating fevers and other agonies. Artemisinin, especially paired with a second drug, cures malaria with marvelous efficiency.

A proxy war is set to unfold which will likely determine whether artemisinin stands or falls — and possibly global malaria eradication efforts along with it. It’s a movie we’ve seen before, twice. Earlier mutations reduced the once potent drugs chloroquine and then sulphadoxine–pyrimethamine to mere molecular bystanders of malaria’s ill frolic. Both times, the drug-resistant strains originated in western Cambodia before diffusing worldwide.

Today resistance radiates from Pailin in western Cambodia, near the Thai border. An effort orchestrated by the World Health Organization will descend on resistance hot spots in the region, cut them off, and attempt to systematically eliminate the resistant parasites they harbor. The containment strategy will encompass an area the size of Indiana, the largest such intervention of the current eradication campaign. An international eradication effort last century faltered and failed, in large part because of an enormous resistance push-back.

Do we get to win this time? The battleground appears to favor the parasite. Bed nets and spraying DDT inside homes are highly effective control measures against malaria-bearing mosquitoes, but not in this theater. Unlike in much of Africa, mosquitoes here hunt and bite before sundown. The happy coincidence of the circadian rhythms of humans and a protection measure (bed nets) is broken.

In any event, much of the vulnerable population sleeps outside. Many are young men in the timber and gem trade, primordial capitalists not always eager for contact with governing authority. They are spread thinly all over and move often as if to directly thwart public health efforts. There are broad patterns of movement, but these too are ominous: perhaps 200,000 migrants circulate from Cambodia to Thailand, an annual pulse almost certain to carry any resistant parasites to the rest of the world.

While not given to superstition, scientists have accorded almost mystical powers to a malaria strain native to Southeast Asia. The organism seems possessed of a general mechanism for performing the complicated genetic evasions necessary to shrug off pure poison — a suspicion that now appears justified. Recent lab experiments show that it takes a thousand times fewer parasites to develop resistance than would be required by blind, random mutation. “Spooky,” says University of Washington scientist Pradip Rathod, who has been probing the underpinnings of malaria drug resistance for more than a decade. When resistance arises, he says, “it’s not because the parasite is hacking itself to death.” Rather they seem to know what they’re doing, conceivably because they’ve done it before and can do it again.

An effective strike against resistance must somehow penetrate from the multilateral heights of the World Health Organization (WHO), through numerous yet critical intermediate institutions, down to the ground and a local administration still tinged by the Khmer Rouge. That will be hard. Victory, if won, will come less on the wings of science and more from elbow grease and execution, organized people grinding out a slew of different measures.

There is currently no vaccine for malaria. Instead, we’re castling the king of antimalarial drugs, artemisinin, deploying a therapy known as Malarone. Malarone is effective but brittle: just a single mutation of the malaria parasite can break it, short work for the world’s 250 quadrillion malaria parasites. At least three African countries already have strains resistant to Malarone, just out of sheer genetic diversity. Malarone hasn’t even been used in those nations yet.

New first line drugs are not on the horizon. The drug “pipeline” is more like a brutal, class 6 whitewater: about 93 percent of candidate compounds don’t come out the other end. The successful transit of a single malaria drug costs about $420 million. As well, the best antimalarial drugs originated from natural sources: chloroquine from the bark of the cinchona tree and artemisinin from wormwood. Compounds engineered de novo are expected “by the dozen,” according to Rathod, but these will likely come with lesser durability in the face of resistance, like Malarone.

Compounds fabricated by human hands are comparatively crude and robotic, usually having a single target. Natural molecules perform a more complicated pharmacokinetic dance, which an admiring Rathod calls “beautiful.” And rare: Humans have unearthed just these two sources, both centuries ago. Perhaps we have missed something since, but so far systematic searches for other natural products have been unavailing. Neither has evolution, toiling for millennia, discovered a solution that fully protects humans against malaria.

With funding from the Gates Foundation, this generation’s best and brightest are working to save artemisinin. They must succeed if there’s to be any possibility of rolling back malaria. Artemisinin must be saved, or there will be millions of deaths, without exaggeration.

Also riding on the outcome is the hope of making health a new ordering principle of international politics. Global credibility is once again at stake in Southeast Asia. If malaria eradication fails, governments won’t believe in — or fund — global health crusades. It would be the worst of the 1960s, repeated.

If you love wine, it’s easy to spend a week sniffing and sipping through a wide variety of viticulture regions in Washington and Oregon. While most wine tourists concentrate on one area, such as Woodinville or the Yakima Valley, my wine buddy Shari Gherman and I spread ourselves wonderfully thin. There were many stunning sights and tasting surprises.

The wineries Shari and I visited ranged from well-known Oregon producers with big Wine Spectator scores to fledgling wineries in the new Lake Chelan appellation. Shari was scouting wineries to participate in her third annual American Fine Wine Competition in South Florida this fall.

At the beginning of the week, we marveled at the gorgeous views from wineries located on Lake Chelan. That’s Washington’s newest American Viticulture Area. It’s only been planted for about a decade. Now there are about 20 wineries, some of which are releasing their first estate wines.

With their cooler climate, Chelan-area winemakers tout their Alsatian-style whites, including Riesling, pinot gris, and viognier. But we were surprised by the quality of some of the reds, including syrah and malbec. Nearly all the wineries have patios and tasting rooms overlooking the spectacular lake, with their vineyards sloping down below. Several have restaurants or limited-menu cafes.

Some of our more memorable tasting experiences were with Larry Lehmbecker at Vin du Lac Winery, Jeff Benson at Benson Vineyards, Heather and Dean Neff at Nefarious Cellars, Julie Pittsinger at Karma Vineyards, and Bob Jankelson at Tsillan Cellars. Vin du Lac’s 2006 Barrel Select Chardonnay won best of show in last year’s American Fine Wine Competition.

Following a beautiful three-hour-drive to the west on Highway 2, we sipped and spat our way through Woodinville, home of Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, by far Washington’s biggest producer. Ste. Michelle’s head winemaker, Bob Bertheau, guided us through some of his company’s well-made cabernet sauvignons, merlots, Rieslings, and other wines.

But we were also impressed with the work of newer, lesser-known Woodinville winemakers such as Chris Sparkman of Sparkman Cellars, who poured us his beautiful, minerally Chardonnay and a deep, balanced cabernet sauvignon. Other notable tasting visits were with Greg Lille of DeLille Cellars, and at the Gard Vintners and Smasne Cellars tasting room (Robert Smasne is the winemaker for both brands).

Next we raced to the heart of Washington state winegrowing — the Yakima Valley. Stopping at my home in Yakima to pick up a third palate, my wife Deborah, the three of us made several satisfying tasting stops in the Valley with David and Linda Lowe at Wineglass Cellars, Wade Wolfe at Thurston Wolfe, Sean Gilbert at Gilbert Cellars, Damon Lobato at the Wines of Washington tasting room, and Susan Bunnell at Bunnell Family Cellar.

Ron Bunnell, former chief red winemaker at Ste. Michelle, is known as one of Washington’s top makers of Rhone blends. His wines did not disappoint, pairing beautifully with the gourmet, wood-fire pizzas his wife Susan spread out before us in the Bunnell’s new bistro, Wine O’Clock. It’s located in Prosser, in the midst of a cluster of wineries known as Vintners Village.

The next day, Shari and I drove four hours through the Columbia River Gorge to Oregon’s Willamette Valley, home of some of this country’s best and most famous pinot noirs. We were fortunate to taste at Lemelson Vineyards, Chehalem, Owen Roe Winery, Archery Summit, Domaine Serene, De Ponte Cellars, Trisaetum, Bergstrom, and Ponzi, among others. Mostly we sampled wines from the 2007 vintage, which everyone agreed was a very challenging vintage due to the unusual fall weather.

At Lemelson, we met proprietor Eric Lemelson and winemaker Anthony King, talking at length about Lemelson’s organic and sustainable agriculture approach. At De Ponte’s tasting room, winemaker Isabelle Dutartre was pouring her own pinots, since the rest of the staff was taking that Monday off. And at Trisaetum, we sipped Rieslings with proprietor James Frey and winemaker Greg McClellan, then walked through a gallery of Frey’s striking, vineyard-themed photographs and paintings.

We were so intent on hitting as many good wineries as possible in our two days in Oregon that we had to pass up Willamette Valley’s many noted restaurants. Shari almost cried when we concluded we didn’t have time to dine at a restaurant called the Joel Palmer House in Dundee, whose menu is devoted to local wild mushrooms and truffle oil made by the proprietor. Oh well, next time.

The sybaritic highlight of the trip was our visit to King Estate Winery, Oregon’s largest producer, located south of Eugene, which we reached after a two and a half hour drive on the prettiest two-lane roads imaginable. After tasting through the well-made wines, including an incredible $12 dry Riesling, we were shown to the guest house Shari wangled for the night. It was huge, with four bedrooms, two porches, a billiards room, and a refrigerator stocked with filet mignon and other goodies.

After dinner, Ed King, who was staying with his family in their summer home less than 100 yards away, called to see if the accommodations were satisfactory. I told him they were, just barely.

On our way home to Yakima, we still had time to hit a few wineries in the Columbia Gorge. The Gorge is a new and promising area for wineries, with some cooler areas on the Washington side that are friendly to pinot noir. Proprietor/winemaker Luke Bradford at Cor Cellars poured us his cabernet sauvignon.

On our final stop, at nearby Domaine Pouillon, Shari finally got her wish. We had a long visit with winemakers Alexis and Juliet Pouillon. Alexis told us about his famous parents, the late French Africa news broadcaster Pierre Pouillon and pioneering organic restaurateur Nora Pouillon, who runs Restaurant Nora in Washington, D.C.

Finally, we walked to the barrel room, and Alexis pulled out his wine thief. This is what Shari had been waiting for the whole trip. We sipped the Pouillons’ juice from 2008, a warm year which yielded big fruit and tannins. We could easily have spent another hour or two there because the couple wanted to taste from almost all the barrels to see how the wines were developing. But the end of our wine tour was closing in and we had to leave them there, happily drawing and sipping.