If I traveled back in time, would I get ancient diseases?

Gus

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May 3, 2013, 9:50:23 AM5/3/13

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"They make it look so easy on Doctor Who. Everyone hops into a time machine
with a madman at the controls and travels through time, creating paradoxes
and rewriting history, and somehow everything works out. Only rarely does
anyone get sick or spread disease to their unfortunate ancestors. It's
conceivable, I suppose, that not only does the Doctor's time-travel rig come
equipped with a universal translator, it's also got a universal
inoculator..."

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/3104/if-i-traveled-back-in-time-would-i-get-ancient-diseases

Agamemnon

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May 3, 2013, 9:30:33 PM5/3/13

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You'd get the ones like the plague that you don't have immunity to.

"Gus" <gus.o...@geemail.com> wrote in message
news:km0f4j$pv6$1...@dont-email.me...

> "They make it look so easy on Doctor Who. Everyone hops into a time
> machine with a madman at the controls and travels through time, creating
> paradoxes and rewriting history, and somehow everything works out. Only
> rarely does anyone get sick or spread disease to their unfortunate
> ancestors. It's

The future is a bigger problem since you're hardly likely to have immunity
to future mutations of something.

AC

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May 3, 2013, 10:28:46 PM5/3/13

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Agamemnon wrote:
> You'd get the ones like the plague that you don't have immunity to.
>
> "Gus" <gus.o...@geemail.com> wrote in message
> news:km0f4j$pv6$1...@dont-email.me...
>> "They make it look so easy on Doctor Who. Everyone hops into a time
>> machine with a madman at the controls and travels through time, creating
>> paradoxes and rewriting history, and somehow everything works out. Only
>> rarely does anyone get sick or spread disease to their unfortunate
>> ancestors. It's
>
> The future is a bigger problem since you're hardly likely to have immunity
> to future mutations of something.

I'd say its even over all.

Your genetics could bring a cure with you to the future that had been
lost. Also, we might have stronger immunities than future people, if
say, we now live in relative dirt, and the future is perfectly clean.

There is no way of knowing either way. You should be better off going in
to the past, since we have some knowledge of the past, but you cant rely
on that at all. Us from not might be infect-able by a virus that never
affected humans at that time. The danger in the past would be us
bringing disease which wipes out the past.

--
AC

Gus

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May 3, 2013, 10:33:20 PM5/3/13

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"Agamemnon" <agam...@hello.to.NO_SPAM> wrote in message
news:Hs2dnV413vwn-RnM...@eclipse.net.uk...

How does The Doctor and His Companion(s) deal with the problem?

The Doctor

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May 3, 2013, 10:45:08 PM5/3/13

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Well small pox is suposedly dead.
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Member - Liberal International This is doc...@nl2k.ab.ca Ici doc...@nl2k.ab.ca
God,Queen and country!Never Satan President Republic!Beware AntiChrist rising!
http://www.fullyfollow.me/rootnl2k Look at Psalms 14 amnd 53 on Atheism
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The Doctor

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May 3, 2013, 10:45:28 PM5/3/13

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TARDIS infirmiry?

Your Name

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May 4, 2013, 2:23:47 AM5/4/13

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In article <km1rr7$shf$1...@dont-email.me>, "Gus" <gus.o...@geemail.com> wrote:

Probably due to help from the TARDIS - something similar to the way they
can understand / speak different languages (or at least some different
languages, when the script writers want them to).

Brian

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May 4, 2013, 2:24:37 AM5/4/13

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It reminds me of a person who had a cold visiting a tribe of African people
who were living in the past and had no medicines. Some of the tribe caught
his cold and died as they had nothing in their body to fight the cold.

I feel that if a person was frozen and woken up in the future then they
might have the same problems as the tribe.

We have become weaker than our ancestors in other ways. If we were suddenly
exposed to cold harsh conditions then some would not survive.

--
Regards Brian

AC

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May 4, 2013, 4:29:34 AM5/4/13

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Equally though, the tribe could have a disease that they and only they
have immunity for, which could kill the cold visitor.

>
> We have become weaker than our ancestors in other ways. If we were suddenly
> exposed to cold harsh conditions then some would not survive.
>

Well, again, it can work either way.

--
AC

Message has been deleted

Brian

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May 4, 2013, 6:09:20 AM5/4/13

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The good thing about Sci Fiction is that anything is possible.

Maybe they could create a story where the Tardis malfunctioned and the
Doctor and his companion cold the understand la language of people on the
planet.

--
Regards Brian

Stephen Wilson

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May 4, 2013, 8:28:48 AM5/4/13

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"Gus" <gus.o...@geemail.com> wrote in message
news:km0f4j$pv6$1...@dont-email.me...

I'm sure there was reference in the Virgin New Adventures to nanites. I
think the idea was that the Doctor and his travelling companions were all
protected from various diseases thanks to Gallifreyan nanites...

¡Gölök Z.L.F Buday AKA The Black Jester AKA The Voltairian

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May 4, 2013, 9:55:10 PM5/4/13

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On Fri, 3 May 2013 09:50:23 -0400, in rec.arts.drwho "Gus" <gus.o...@geemail.com> wrote:

¡"They make it look so easy on Doctor Who. Everyone hops into a time machine

¡

Good question, War of the Worlds syndrome, or here the Ark. You have an Alien landing a few microbes kill the ones
who lived among the steril existence. Maybe it's because he traveled enough and go sick enough if Barusa just dropped
some where before he wore the ring maybe he'd get sick in no time.

solar penguin

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May 5, 2013, 3:13:44 PM5/5/13

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It's perfectly feasible for big fuzzy purple animals
to be a viewing platform for the ghost.

Gus

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May 6, 2013, 8:06:33 PM5/6/13

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"Brian" <bcl...@es.co.nz> wrote in message
news:355922011389354762.9...@free.teranews.com...

That would be interesting.

Someone pointed out: "Funny thing is, I was just watching the DVD of the
start of the first post-Martha show, and the new lady friend of his asked if
she needed to get shots before she got into the phone booth, and he just
looked at her funny and didn't answer."

�G�l�k Z.L.F Buday AKA The Black Jester AKA The Voltairian

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May 12, 2013, 2:14:45 AM5/12/13

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On Mon, 6 May 2013 20:06:33 -0400, in rec.arts.drwho "Gus" <gus.o...@geemail.com> wrote:

�"Brian" <bcl...@es.co.nz> wrote in message

Maybe some should remember Masques and cult and tombs/catacombs....

Madragoda or something, I think my spelling is off a bit on this, but I have so much time.

The Doctor

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May 12, 2013, 7:44:33 AM5/12/13

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In article <518f3300...@shawnews.vc.shawcable.net>,

Masque of Mandragora.

--
Member - Liberal International This is doc...@nl2k.ab.ca Ici doc...@nl2k.ab.ca
God,Queen and country!Never Satan President Republic!Beware AntiChrist rising!

http://www.fullyfollow.me/rootnl2k Look at Psalms 14 and 53 on Atheism

Mark Evans

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May 18, 2013, 4:22:20 PM5/18/13

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Agamemnon <agam...@hello.to.no_spam> wrote:
> You'd get the ones like the plague that you don't have immunity to.
>
> "Gus" <gus.o...@geemail.com> wrote in message
> news:km0f4j$pv6$1...@dont-email.me...
>> "They make it look so easy on Doctor Who. Everyone hops into a time
>> machine with a madman at the controls and travels through time, creating
>> paradoxes and rewriting history, and somehow everything works out. Only
>> rarely does anyone get sick or spread disease to their unfortunate
>> ancestors. It's
>
> The future is a bigger problem since you're hardly likely to have immunity
> to future mutations of something.

The same issue applies travelling into the past. Since you may be
bringing future pathogens with you.

Also an ancient parasite is the basis of the plot for "The Crimson
Horror".

It may not be so much of an issue travelling to somewhere alien. On the
basis that alien pathogens can't infect humans and human pathogens can't
infect aliens.