https://erictopol.substack.com/p/the-covid-capitulation?s=w
(RE) I can personally say that the past several weeks have involved multiple sick contacts and close friends or family contracting COVID. I also think that my social circle is more prone to this as many of these people were early recipients of each dose and booster and employed more stringent protective measures than the average citizen with no known prior infections. When each of these people became infected I worried for them, but knew that they would likely be okay and all of them have faired through the infection with mild to moderate symptoms lasting for 3-4 days. I do not want other people to have these worries and experiences. But the position that Dr. Topol proposes our society take with respect to novel and emerging strains of covid is untenable.
"While the policy of zero Covid is untenable with Omicron, as we’ve seen abandoned in many countries such as New Zealand, Australia, and Taiwan, we should adopt the new policy of Zero Covid Deaths."
Novel strains with immune escape from vaccine-induced antibodies aren't anybody's dream. But the background population of Americans that is either vaccinated against or has natural immunity from a past infection is likely well over 80% of the population. While they may be open to infection with a novel strain, their immune responses will be much more competent to fend off the new relative. Even then, for some people, this won't be enough and they will in fact succumb to an acute episode of COVID. But this is the nature of being a biological organism in communication with other organisms. We have diagnostics, treatments, and a strong ability to care for and create additional protections for vulnerable populations. Every tool we could ask for, we have some version of at present.
To do more than this, to hinder the social, economic, or educational goals of millions of Americans for the pursuit of a "zero-covid-deaths" policy is just as unworkable as a "zero-covid" platform. This problem is also inherent to our medical systems’ complexity and reporting systems. People die in hospitals. People get covid. Some of the people who will die in hospitals will also die with or from covid. As long as this virus exists and circulates in our society, there will be people to fall into these buckets.
"...But well beyond the use of boosters and vaccines, and easy, rapid access to Paxlovid, we absolutely need an aggressive stance to get ahead of the virus—for the first time since the pandemic began—instead of surrendering."
This is not surrendering, Dr. Topol. This is what winning will look like.
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https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/search-long-covid
(RE) This writeup is very valuable and comes from one of the first large NIH studies looking for biomarkers and neurocognitive signs of long-covid in a longitudinal population. Take it from Derek Lowe:
"As mentioned, this is an ongoing study, but so far there are no diagnostic findings that would allow you to even say for sure that post-Covid even exists, biochemically. The authors certainly don't put it that way, but I will."
I've discussed briefly my experience working in a long-term follow-up clinic for ICU patients where the entire faculty I worked with expressed hesitation around the organic nature of long-covid. Paired with the french JAMA study showing that the strongest indicator for having long covid was a belief in having contracted COVID rather than actually having had covid, my priors surrounding this diagnosis are more solidified in their current form.
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https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30102081/
(RA w/ skimming) A member of my lab group has a particular interest in the use of psychedelics as more systemic anti-inflammatory and anti-anxiety medications from a biochemical premise. Hypothesizing that psychedelics decrease average peak cortisol levels and other inflammatory biomarkers.
This paper focuses on the utilization of 5-HT2a receptor agonists as possible anti-inflammatory medications. A similar pathway to this mechanism would be the SSRIs, which beyond their use in psychiatric medicine also have certain applications in palliative care for those with chronic pain syndromes. I've always assumed that this had more to do with a knock-on effect from lowering basal anxiety levels which manifest as chronic pain in these patients. But perhaps the increased levels of serotonergic signaling, including at the 5-HT sites, is the mechanistic explanation for this effect.
(RA, skimmed discussion and data) Big 5 personality traits, while very heritable, are not influenced by variation in parenting style. This is one additional node in the network of studies that have gone towards alleviating my pre-parental stresses. I'm confident that I will be able to put my children into environments and peer groups that will allow them to maximize whatever potential they possess and protect them from insults that may inhibit this development. I feel a great sense of uncertainty when I consider what actual interventions I would institute within my household to increase any specific trait or capacity in my progeny.
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https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/20/22893041/saturn-death-star-underground-ocean-nasa-moon
(RE) How many nukes does it take to get through 14-20 miles of ice?
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(RE)
"Price’s model was my introduction to the Antikythera mechanism. My first paper, in fact, “Challenging the Classic Research,” was a comprehensive demolition of most of Price’s proposed gearing structure for the machine."
How much science progresses simply by developing new tools that allow finer resolution imaging of internal structures? That's some nice groundbreaking work you've got there, would be a shame if someone were to, I don't know, invent hierarchical phase-contrast CT and disprove all of your hypotheses just by looking at some images.
Still, a large and humbling amount of work remained for these researchers to finish this Archimedean puzzle. The level of complexity contained within this object is astounding for a ~200B.C. tool. Multiple levels of gearing with 1mm teeth and the ability to calculate the moon's phase, position, and epicyclic positioning while also tracking the sun and the five nearest planetary bodies. They hypothesize that Archimedes was the inventor of this tool with some historical literature to back up the claim; not bad for a guy who is occasionally the butt of jokes for being remembered by history for noticing that his bathwater rose when he sat in it.
I'm sure that finer imaging and unearthed literature will eventually provide new insights into further possible applications of this tool. But it should definitely give you pause when considering what was and wasn't possible in the long past.