Tiny Variants In Genes May Dictate Severity of Coronavirus (theguardian.com) 53
Scientists are tracking small differences in DNA to explain why the disease has different effects. An anonymous reader shares a report from The Guardian: Key developments include research which indicates that interferon -- a molecular messenger that stimulates immune defenses against invading viruses -- may play a vital role in defending the body. Scientists have found that rare mutations in some people may leave them unable to make adequate supplies of the interferon they need to trigger effective immune responses to Covid. Trials using interferon as Covid treatments are now under way at several centers. Research is also focusing on a gene known as TYK2. Some variants of this gene are involved in triggering some auto-immune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and also seems to be involved in causing severe Covid. A drug developed to treat RA, baricitinib, has a genetic common denominator with Covid and this has led to it being used in clinical trails against the virus. Last month the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly announced that early results showed the drug helped Covid patients recover.
Other research -- pioneered by Kenneth Baillie, of Edinburgh University, and outlined in a recent issue of Science -- has uncovered several other genes that appear to be important. These include OAS genes that are triggered by interferon and which code for proteins that are involved in breaking down viral RNA, from which the Covid-19 virus is made. Baillie's research has yet to be peer reviewed and he has counseled caution in interpreting this work. Nevertheless, he told Science that he hoped his results would speed the development of treatments "because the epidemic is progressing at such an alarming rate, even a few months of time saved will save lots of lives".
In addition, other researchers point out that there are other ways of using genetics to combat Covid. Dr Dipender Gill of Imperial College London has, with colleagues, used genetic data to predict how different interventions could affect disease reactions. To do that, Gill -- working with a team of British, Norwegian and American scientists -- analyzed data from thousands of patients, using genetic variants that increase individuals' risk of acquiring these conditions. They were then able to carry out studies that would show if action taken to modify these traits would reduce susceptibility to severe Covid-19. The team made two key discoveries. "We found there is a causal link between obesity and the risk of having a severe Covid-19 [reaction]. We also found the same effect for smoking. This indicates that losing weight and giving up smoking will have a direct impact in improving your chances of surviving Covid-19. That is the power of genetic studies like these."
Other research -- pioneered by Kenneth Baillie, of Edinburgh University, and outlined in a recent issue of Science -- has uncovered several other genes that appear to be important. These include OAS genes that are triggered by interferon and which code for proteins that are involved in breaking down viral RNA, from which the Covid-19 virus is made. Baillie's research has yet to be peer reviewed and he has counseled caution in interpreting this work. Nevertheless, he told Science that he hoped his results would speed the development of treatments "because the epidemic is progressing at such an alarming rate, even a few months of time saved will save lots of lives".
In addition, other researchers point out that there are other ways of using genetics to combat Covid. Dr Dipender Gill of Imperial College London has, with colleagues, used genetic data to predict how different interventions could affect disease reactions. To do that, Gill -- working with a team of British, Norwegian and American scientists -- analyzed data from thousands of patients, using genetic variants that increase individuals' risk of acquiring these conditions. They were then able to carry out studies that would show if action taken to modify these traits would reduce susceptibility to severe Covid-19. The team made two key discoveries. "We found there is a causal link between obesity and the risk of having a severe Covid-19 [reaction]. We also found the same effect for smoking. This indicates that losing weight and giving up smoking will have a direct impact in improving your chances of surviving Covid-19. That is the power of genetic studies like these."
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https://www.bostonherald.com/2... [bostonherald.com]
We might know what you're talking about if your link wasn't paywalled. Do not post these.
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Simply forbid single motherhood.
One does not simply forbid single motherhood.
Think I'm kidding?
I believe you are completely serious. I also believe you didn't think this through. How can single mothers be forbidden? Forced abortions? Forced adoptions? Forced marriages? Do we imprison these women, or just take their children? Would we force these women to be sterilized?
Look at the infection rates of single mom versus 2-parent families. The black community in the USA suffers from high infection rates for COVID-19, AIDS, HPV, ordinary influenza, drug addiction, teen pregnancy, poverty, and violent crime. It's because 70% of black children have only a single mom. It's the largest single risk factor for this medical problem as well as a host of other devastating illnesses and social problems.
That is all a very unpleasant reality in the USA. Reducing the rate of single mothers would certainly help. If anyone can provide a realistic mechanism that would help then I'd like
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Bullshit, abortion is neither expensive nor dangerous... except where it's outlawed, and you were talking back alle abortions.
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In the mid-nineties, I saw a survey that said, by 4-to-3, unwed teenaged mothers were self-proclaimed evangelical Christians.
So, ban evangelical Christians, or force their children to actually have real sex ed?
As my button says, "Abstinence-only sex ed is like pedestrian-only driver's ed"
Re: Targeted treatments (Score:2)
I lost 50lbs in the first 5 months of the pandemic
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I'm down 30 pounds since the lockdown started. Unfortunately my wife is up by a lot more than that.
Tiny variants in politicians (Score:2, Insightful)
Tiny variants in politicians can also vary the severity of the virus. I mean, a lot of the virus spread and morbidity is because of political decisions.
Why are you sitting her reading this comment like a fool? Go vote, you idiot.
Hmm unless you are gonna vote for the other guy.
Obesity (Score:1)
"We found there is a causal link between obesity and the risk of having a severe Covid-19 [reaction]"
Thats most of the USA doomed then. The number of beeched whales walking around there is just obscene. Do they have any self respect?
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To be completely fair to us, if you had to wake up every day and look around you and see this shit-show transpiring, would you have any self respect?
COVID COVID COVID (Score:1)
I just googled 'why is flu seasonal?'. I already know the answer, it's in plain sight, flu is seasonal because in winter the sun is lower in the sky causing people to get less vitamin D causing people's immune systems to be compromised.
But FML they haven't worked it out yet. The media and politicians are sitting their like 3 monkeys, they see no evidence, they hear no evidence and they speak no sense. People are dying from COVID because they are vitamin D deficient.
For some reason that is beyond me, experts
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It's got nothing to do with the fact we're all indoors of course
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Most of the western world spends most of the time indoors all year round. Viruses spread all year round, what changes is the effectiveness of peoples immune systems due to the well documented increase of vitamin D deficiency during winter.
The indoors hypothesis doesn't hold water beyond the fact that people being outdoors more means guess what - they get more sunshine and more vitamin D.
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In winter the only thing exposed to sun is your face and your hands.
Indoors or outdoors hardly makes any difference at all.
If you fear you have a vitamin D deficit, take some supplement ... easy.
Re:COVID COVID COVID (Score:4, Interesting)
Most of the western world spends most of the time indoors all year round. Viruses spread all year round, what changes is the effectiveness of peoples immune systems due to the well documented increase of vitamin D deficiency during winter.
That's only about half true. Yes, people who are severely deficient in vitamin D have significantly better outcomes with supplementation, but for most people, it has no effect. That's why some studies show that vitamin D helps and others show that it doesn't: most studies didn't contain anyone with a severe enough vitamin D deficiency.
Most people get enough vitamin D even in the winter, whether from sunlight, milk, or other sources. So for most people, vitamin D will have no effect whatsoever. Of course, if you are deficient, vitamin D supplementation will reduce the severity of most respiratory infections (including flu, COVID-19, etc.).
Either way, though, that primarily affects the severity of illness, not your odds of getting it.
When it comes to the actual risk of getting sick, the biggest thing that changes is the fact that people's homes are heated during the winter, which dries out their noses, which makes them significantly more susceptible to viruses [sciencedaily.com]. Mucus is a major part of your immune system, containing leukocytes, possibly antibodies (if you have been previously exposed to something similar), and polyanions (which are potent antiviral agents). Without adequate mucus flow, viruses have much easier access to epithelial cells, and thus are more readily able to cause infection.
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Roughly half the populations in the northern hemisphere get vitamin D deficient every year, here in the UK there simply isn't anywhere near enough sunshine to sunbathe in the half of the year that is winter and there's not enough vitamin D in foods.
Don't believe me? Google vitamin D deficiency levels for any country you please.
Sure but
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There are, of course, many other correlations that should be looked into rather than sticking to just the simplistic view that vitamin D deficiency is the culprit in vulnerability to flu, cold, and SARS-Co2. Flu [nih.gov] and cold [sciencedaily.com]viruses are very sensitive to temperature.
Cold nose
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Human body stays the same temperature all year round.
"There are, of course, many other correlations that should be looked into "
It's not simplistic, it's bloody obvious, why ignore the obvious answer that makes the most sense.
You are the umpteenth person who can't bear the idea that sunshine creates vitamin D on the skin which strengthens the immune system against viruses. Why is that? Why are you so quick to disregard the obvious and also thoroughly tested truth? Why must the answer be something that's not
Re:COVID COVID COVID (Score:5, Informative)
You are the umpteenth person who can't bear the idea that sunshine creates vitamin D on the skin which strengthens the immune system against viruses.
You are the umpty-umpteenth person who declares a hypothesis as fact without research. Congratulations on your ability to shit on the scientific method.
Why must the answer be something that's not simple when the simple answer is staring you in the face?
Many things are counterintuitive. This may be one of them. This is why we science.
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I have seen tons of evidence, you for some reason have assumed I haven't and then argued with me based upon your incorrect assumption.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/r... [sciencedaily.com]
Vitamin D protects against colds and flu, finds major global study:
"Vitamin D -- the 'sunshine vitamin' -- is thought to protect against respiratory infections by boosting levels of antimicrobial peptides -- natural antibiotic-like substances -- in the lungs. Results of the study fit with the observation that colds and 'flu are commonest in wi
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https://www.sciencedaily.com/r... [sciencedaily.com]
Vitamin D protects against colds and flu, finds major global study:
"Vitamin D -- the 'sunshine vitamin' -- is thought to protect against respiratory infections by boosting levels of antimicrobial peptides -- natural antibiotic-like substances -- in the lungs. ... "
The part you left out was that it only has a effect in people who are significantly deficient. I refer you back to my comment here [slashdot.org] for citations and a better explanation.
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Half the population get vitamin D deficient every year so what is the point of your post?
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Deficient, but not severely deficient. The percentage who are deficient enough to have a significant reduction in immune function is nonzero, but it is nowhere near half. And AFAIK, vitamin D deficiencies only affect the severity of respiratory viruses, not the odds of getting sick (or if there is an effect, it is minute).
Dry indoor heated air, by contrast plays a major role in transmissibility by reducing your body's ability to trap the virus in mucus where it often gets destroyed by various other subst
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At the end of the day we're talking about 2 different things. You're saying humid air slows the spread of the virus, I'm saying vitamin D helps your body deal with the virus. COVID-19 is very infectious, having humidity at an ideal level is likely less effective than good air circulation which admittedly there is typically less of in winter when people close the windows.
Regardless of humidity the COVID spread during summer doing it's 1st 2nd 3rd etc wave. During summer the death rate appears to of dropped a
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At the end of the day we're talking about 2 different things. You're saying humid air slows the spread of the virus, I'm saying vitamin D helps your body deal with the virus.
It does. But it doesn't slow the spread, which is what determines seasonality. :-)
Regardless of humidity the COVID spread during summer doing it's 1st 2nd 3rd etc wave. During summer the death rate appears to of dropped a lot.
The "a lot" part is not entirely clear from the data. Testing was grossly inadequate during the pre-summer months, so the number of deaths almost certainly looked much higher as a percentage of cases than it actually was. We very well might see some seasonal increase in deaths, but it almost certainly won't be anywhere close to the death rate (as a percentage of cases) that we saw in the first few months of the pandemic, si
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Re:COVID COVID COVID (Score:4, Insightful)
Vitamin D is important, but it's not the whole story of respiratory infection seasonality.
It's well established that low humidity increases respiratory virus transmission. Viral survival in aerosols and fomites is enhanced by low humidity. There is also reason to believe dry air can interfere with our respiratory system's immune response.
In the winter you often find yourself sharing heated, dry, poorly ventilated spaces with other people, perhaps most of whom will have low vitamin D. Taking vitamin D in the winter is a no-brainer, but using humidifiers in shared spaces might be something we should all consider doing.
Lately I've been seeing reports [itemlive.com] of schools using CARES Act federal grants to buy expensive ozone-emitting "air purifiers" for poorly ventilated classrooms. The vendors of course misrepresent the scientific support for their devices. Ozone is an effective disinfectant, but only at concentrations that are harmful to humans. One of its toxic effects at low concentrations is increased susceptibility to respiratory infection.
The money being spent on expensive, pollutant-emitting "air purifiers" would be far better spent on cheap and simple humidifiers.
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Fauci is right, this winter is going to be really bad, sending kids to school will help spread the virus. And Ozone is a harmful chemical, IDK why but western governments don't seem to want to outlaw poisoning people via air.
Natural selection (Score:2)
Humans have been fighting against natural selection within our species for generations now. Individuals with genetic defects of every kind, including those effecting their immune system, who likely would have died before they could reproduce, are kept alive by our medicine and technology. Immunizations help boost their immune system enough to ward off infectious diseases which would have killed them at a younger age (measles, chicken pox, the flu, on and on).
Now, when a new infectious disease comes along t
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Re:Natural selection (Score:4, Insightful)
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Not only are you evil, it seems like you don't understand evolution, or how to benefit from it. It's always in the best interest for a species to have a higher diversity. Selecting based on viral immunity under the assumption that someone with a weak immune system won't have other desirable traits like intelligence or athleticism is really stupid. It's advantageous to have as many survive and explore the solution space instead of selecting based on one trait.
What a stupid thing to say. (Score:3)
Really? A protein that triggers immune responses to viruses MAY play a vital role in defending the body? MAY? The thing you just said is a key part of defending the body from viruses might play a role in that thing you say it does?
Who writes this crap?
Whoever it is, someone needs to also let them know that interferon (and its role) was discovered in 1957. In other words, those "key developments" happened decades ago. Hell, twenty years ago it was a joke on The Simpsons! Bart and Homer have an "interferon fight", and when Dr. Hibbert gets caught in the middle it cures his canker sore.