Culture conceptual framework

We can now begin to look at a conceptual framework that I have been developing for several years about the nature of consciousness, and particularly about the nature of states of consciousness. Although what we loosely call altered states of consciousness are often vitually important in determining human values and behavior, and although we are in the midst of a cultural evolution (or decay, depending on your values) in which experiences from altered states of consciousness play an... 

Full appreciation of microbial evolution must come from a complete knowledge of extant microbial diversity. As well, full appreciation of microbial diversity can only come from an understanding of their evolution. Although these studies generally have been treated independently, this is mostly because there has been no unifying conceptual and technical framework. The ribosomal RNAs now provide the framework. They therefore offer the criteria to explicitly characterize any organism on this planet and to place it in a phylogenetic context. They can be used to characterize natural communities without the requirements of cultivation or previous pure-culture descriptions of the community members (7,10). 

---