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COVID-19

Started by Tank, March 10, 2020, 07:43:23 AM

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billy rubin

juzt got the newz that an elderly member of my yearly meeting died in new york. from the virus.

iknew him for about fifteen yearz. when he lived here we used to take him to lunch after meetin g on firzt day cause he had no money.


"I cannot understand the popularity of that kind of music, which is based on repetition. In a civilized society, things don't need to be said more than three times."

Tank

Quote from: billy rubin on April 10, 2020, 11:59:14 PM
juzt got the newz that an elderly member of my yearly meeting died in new york. from the virus.

iknew him for about fifteen yearz. when he lived here we used to take him to lunch after meetin g on firzt day cause he had no money.

A shame. The nearest to us so far is the father of a close friend. He was 84 and was due to see his first great grandchild in September.
If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

Magdalena

Quote from: Tank on April 11, 2020, 07:27:27 AM
Quote from: billy rubin on April 10, 2020, 11:59:14 PM
juzt got the newz that an elderly member of my yearly meeting died in new york. from the virus.

iknew him for about fifteen yearz. when he lived here we used to take him to lunch after meetin g on firzt day cause he had no money.

A shame. The nearest to us so far is the father of a close friend. He was 84 and was due to see his first great grandchild in September.
I'm sorry to hear this, both of you.  :(

"I've had several "spiritual" or numinous experiences over the years, but never felt that they were the product of anything but the workings of my own mind in reaction to the universe." ~Recusant

Recusant

As I understand it from reading the story below, one of the paths to a vaccination apparently involves modifying a virus that is harmless ("doesn't seem to cause a cytopathic effect") to our species in such a way that it produces an immune response to a protein that is present in SARS-CoV-2, the virus that is causing the pandemic. This modified virus would then be given to the patient, resulting in an immunity to SARS-CoV-2.

"Engineered virus might be able to block coronavirus infections, mouse study shows" | ScienceDaily

QuoteNo vaccines exist that protect people against infections by coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, or the ones that cause SARS and MERS. As COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc, many labs around the world have developed a laser-like focus on understanding the virus and finding the best strategy for stopping it.

This week in mBio, a journal of the American Society of Microbiology, a team of interdisciplinary researchers describes a promising vaccine candidate against the MERS virus. Since the MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak began in 2012, more than 850 people have died, and studies suggest the virus has a case fatality rate of more than 30%.

In the new paper, the researchers suggest that the approach they took for a MERS virus vaccine may also work against SARS-CoV-2. The vaccine's delivery method is an RNA virus called parainfluenza virus 5 (PIV5), which is believed to cause a condition known as kennel cough in dogs but appears harmless to people. The researchers added an extra gene to the virus so that infected cells would produce the S, or spike, glycoprotein known to be involved in MERS infections.

"We know people have been exposed to PIV5, but it seems to be an innocuous virus in humans," said pediatric pulmonologist and coronavirus expert Paul McCray, M.D., at the University of Iowa, in Iowa City, who co-led the new study with virologist Biao He, Ph.D., at the University of Georgia, in Athens. "PIV5 doesn't seem to cause a cytopathic effect."

[. . .]

"We're quite interested in using viruses as gene delivery vehicles," said McCray, who has also investigated similar strategies as a way to treat cystic fibrosis. Now, like colleagues around the world, McCray and He have both focused their research efforts on SARS-CoV-2, taking a similar tack to working with mouse models of infection and testing vaccines.

[Continues . . .]



"Religion is fundamentally opposed to everything I hold in veneration — courage, clear thinking, honesty, fairness, and above all, love of the truth."
— H. L. Mencken


Tank

Interesting link.
If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

xSilverPhinx

Quote from: Recusant on April 13, 2020, 01:57:48 AM
As I understand it from reading the story below, one of the paths to a vaccination apparently involves modifying a virus that is harmless ("doesn't seem to cause a cytopathic effect") to our species in such a way that it produces an immune response to a protein that is present in SARS-CoV-2, the virus that is causing the pandemic. This modified virus would then be given to the patient, resulting in an immunity to SARS-CoV-2.

"Engineered virus might be able to block coronavirus infections, mouse study shows" | ScienceDaily

QuoteNo vaccines exist that protect people against infections by coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, or the ones that cause SARS and MERS. As COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc, many labs around the world have developed a laser-like focus on understanding the virus and finding the best strategy for stopping it.

This week in mBio, a journal of the American Society of Microbiology, a team of interdisciplinary researchers describes a promising vaccine candidate against the MERS virus. Since the MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak began in 2012, more than 850 people have died, and studies suggest the virus has a case fatality rate of more than 30%.

In the new paper, the researchers suggest that the approach they took for a MERS virus vaccine may also work against SARS-CoV-2. The vaccine's delivery method is an RNA virus called parainfluenza virus 5 (PIV5), which is believed to cause a condition known as kennel cough in dogs but appears harmless to people. The researchers added an extra gene to the virus so that infected cells would produce the S, or spike, glycoprotein known to be involved in MERS infections.

"We know people have been exposed to PIV5, but it seems to be an innocuous virus in humans," said pediatric pulmonologist and coronavirus expert Paul McCray, M.D., at the University of Iowa, in Iowa City, who co-led the new study with virologist Biao He, Ph.D., at the University of Georgia, in Athens. "PIV5 doesn't seem to cause a cytopathic effect."

[. . .]

"We're quite interested in using viruses as gene delivery vehicles," said McCray, who has also investigated similar strategies as a way to treat cystic fibrosis. Now, like colleagues around the world, McCray and He have both focused their research efforts on SARS-CoV-2, taking a similar tack to working with mouse models of infection and testing vaccines.

[Continues . . .]

That is interesting. Even though using viruses as vehicles to inject genetic material into host cells for whatever purpose isn't new, it's a very clever strategy. The creative ingenuity of some people who think up these bioengineering strategies bring some hope for humanity amid so much stupidity (not ignorance which can be remedied, I'm talking about real brain-dead stupidity...). 

Thank you for posting that.  ;D
I am what survives if it's slain - Zack Hemsey


Recusant

Not particularly helpful, this one, but for what it's worth:

"Over 370,000 People Have Survived COVID-19. Here's What We Know About Recovery" | ScienceAlert

QuoteMost people who get the coronavirus recover. More than 372,000 such cases have been documented worldwide.

"Eventually, if all goes well, your immune system will completely destroy all of the virus in your system," Tom Duszynski, director of epidemiology education at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, wrote in The Conversation. "A person who was infected with and survived a virus with no long-term health effects or disabilities has 'recovered'."

Still, many uncertainties remain: It's not yet clear how many people have recovered, how the illness will affect them in the long run, or how long they will be immune. Here's everything we know about the people who have recovered from COVID-19.

[. . .]

[Dr Bala] Hota [professor of infectious diseases and Associate Chief Medical Officer at Chicago's Rush University Medical Centre] told CNN that many patients still have a mild cough and feel tired even once they're considered recovered and are no longer contagious. It can take a long time to fully get back to normal.

"It takes anything up to six weeks to recover from this disease," Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organisation's Health Emergencies Program, said in a March press briefing. "People who suffer very severe illness can take months to recover from the illness."

The process is different for patients who were put on a ventilator.

"What we're seeing in patients who end up on ventilators is that they often stay on them for several weeks," Dr. J. Randall Curtis, a professor at the University of Washington Harborview Medical Centre, told US News & World Report.

"And then, coming off the ventilator, they're often going to be in the ICU for several days, and then back [in a regular hospital unit] for a few days to a week or so to regain their strength."

Dr. Shu-Yuan Xiao, a pathology professor at the University of Chicago School of Medicine, told ABC News that most people with mild cases of COVID-19 should recover "with no lasting effect." The future is murkier for patients who develop severe illness, though.

[Continues . . .]
"Religion is fundamentally opposed to everything I hold in veneration — courage, clear thinking, honesty, fairness, and above all, love of the truth."
— H. L. Mencken


Tank

If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

Ecurb Noselrub

My wife and I are arguing about vacation this summer.  I say I'm willing to travel to London and Paris in July.  She is not.  I have to decide by April 30 - I can change my flight until then.  Yeah, I know, this is a First World Problem.  But I'm about to go nuts in this house.   But, if she still says "no" by April 29, the decision is made for me.

xSilverPhinx

My mother's 50-something year old cousin on her mother's side passed away from the virus recently. She was the prime caretaker of her father, who is just under 90 years old. Now an elderly man is likely infected and on his own.

I didn't know either of them personally, but I feel bad for my maternal grandmother, who lost a niece and is likely to lose a brother as well. :(     
I am what survives if it's slain - Zack Hemsey


Tank

Quote from: xSilverPhinx on April 16, 2020, 04:20:29 PM
My mother's 50-something year old cousin on her mother's side passed away from the virus recently. She was the prime caretaker of her father, who is just under 90 years old. Now an elderly man is likely infected and on his own.

I didn't know either of them personally, but I feel bad for my maternal grandmother, who lost a niece and is likely to lose a brother as well. :(     

Bad news all round.
If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.

Asmodean

Quote from: xSilverPhinx on April 16, 2020, 04:20:29 PM
My mother's 50-something year old cousin on her mother's side passed away from the virus recently. She was the prime caretaker of her father, who is just under 90 years old. Now an elderly man is likely infected and on his own.

I didn't know either of them personally, but I feel bad for my maternal grandmother, who lost a niece and is likely to lose a brother as well. :(     
That is a lot of misfortune at once. One can hope that the elderly gentleman pulls through, although losing a child is probably far heavier a shit to deal with than the prospect of succumbing to the virus yourself.

Best wishes. (the kind that if they were horses, at least you could ride them and eat them and sell them for coin. Look, I know that it counts for something, but I fucking detest these hollow platitudes that "everyone," myself included, apparently, is flinging around so freely these days. Apologies for the rant)
Quote from: Ecurb Noselrub on July 25, 2013, 08:18:52 PM
In Asmo's grey lump,
wrath and dark clouds gather force.
Luxembourg trembles.

Recusant

Commiseration for the death and misfortune in your family, xSilverPhinx:(
"Religion is fundamentally opposed to everything I hold in veneration — courage, clear thinking, honesty, fairness, and above all, love of the truth."
— H. L. Mencken


Asmodean

Just read an article about an elderly lady with dementia, who lives in a nursing home and can't have her son or any-one else visit her like she's used to. She doesn't understand why (at least, not all the time) and from what the article claims, her example is common these days. Nobody can visit their elderly relatives in nursing homes. Not, unless it is to say goodbye to the dying.

That's some powerfully dark shit right there. I mean, what else is there, but... It's fucked up. For all involved.

I may translate and post it later, if I remember to when it's not twenty to midnight.
Quote from: Ecurb Noselrub on July 25, 2013, 08:18:52 PM
In Asmo's grey lump,
wrath and dark clouds gather force.
Luxembourg trembles.

Tank

My Mother-in-law is totally ga-ga and hasn't got a clue what's going on :(
If religions were TV channels atheism is turning the TV off.
"Religion is a culture of faith; science is a culture of doubt." ― Richard P. Feynman
'It is said that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. That is true, it's called Life.' - Terry Pratchett
Remember, your inability to grasp science is not a valid argument against it.