2024-09-15 General

Defies Heading Classification This paper from China (2024-09-04) reports that animals farmed for fur carry a TON of nasty viruses. They looked at 461 fur animals that they found dead (412 from fur and/or livestock farms and 49 from wild settings) from all over China, and found seven coronaviruses, three types of influenza, Japanese encephalitis… Continue reading 2024-09-15 General

2024-09-07 General

COVID-19 Long COVID This paper (2024-09-05) reports that baricitinib and anakinra — relatively commonly used immunomodulatory drugs — can effectively treat lung fibrosis in mice (which can cause the Long COVID symptom of shortness of breath). This paper from USA (2024-08-26) reports that even mild COVID-19 infections can cause increased levels of autoantibodies, and Long… Continue reading 2024-09-07 General

2024-08-31 General

COVID-19 I’m going to put stars ⭐ next to papers that I think are particularly exciting. My Bad! I have, in the past, referred to the nucleocapsid as the “ball” part of the spiky ball that is a SARS-CoV-2 virion. I was wrong: the “ball” part is called the “envelope”. Inside the envelope is the… Continue reading 2024-08-31 General

2024-08-18 General/BC

This article reports that the World Health Organization has declared mpox to be a pandemic, so I guess I will occasionally cover mpox as well. Honestly, world, can we stop having so many pandemics?!?! This article (2024-08-13) reports that World Health Organisation has added Black Death, H5N1 and mpox to its priority pathogens list. That… Continue reading 2024-08-18 General/BC

2024-08-03 General

COVID-19 Pathology This paper from France (2024-08-02) reported that they found SARS-CoV-2 in semen. They got positive tests from 11% of subjects who’d had mild COVID-19 infections. In one man’s semen, they were able to find replication-competent virus (i.e. it wasn’t just virus RNA fragments) after 90 days! Transmission This preprint from USA (2024-07-31) (also… Continue reading 2024-08-03 General

2024-07-30 General

COVID-19 Long COVID This paper from Italy (2024-07-15) reports that children with Long COVID have elevated levels of P-selectin compared to controls. P-selectin is a protein in cells which call other players in the immune system to help counter an infection. This preprint from USA (2024-07-25) reports that they can tell Irritable Bowel Syndrome from… Continue reading 2024-07-30 General

2024-07-14 General/BC

COVID-19 Personal Recommendation Y’know how I sung the praises of the Readimask a few weeks ago? I need to admit that I’ve had some trouble with a gap forming under my chin, especially in hot (i.e. sweaty) weather. I still like the Readimasks, and have fixed the problem for me with a piece of medical… Continue reading 2024-07-14 General/BC

2024-07-07 General

Long COVID This paper from USA (2024-07-03) reports that they find SARS-CoV-2 hangs out in the bodies of people who had COVID-19. They’ve got a technique where they do PET scans with a tracer that can show where in the body T cells are active. They see a lot of activation in Long COVID patients… Continue reading 2024-07-07 General

2024-06-29 General/BC

I only had two pieces of BC-specific news, so I folded them in to the General post. COVID-19 Pathology IMPORTANT! This paper from USA (2024-06-21) reports using that cannabis raises your risk of severe COVID! The study found that people who used cannabis had a 28% higher risk hospitalization and 78% higher risk of ICU… Continue reading 2024-06-29 General/BC

2024-06-19 General

Unsolicited Product Recommendation I realized that I forgot to gush about the Readimasks fully in the last General post. They are a little expensive. HOWEVER, they gave a great seal (though see below) and were EXTREMELY comfortable. I do not have dangerously sensitive skin — I don’t go into anaphylactic shock when I touch latex… Continue reading 2024-06-19 General