The World vs. SARS-CoV-2 | January 21st, 2021 5:51 am
The World vs. SARS-CoV-2 | January 13th, 2021 8:24 am
The World vs. SARS-CoV-2 | January 6th, 2021 12:43 pm

By mid-December, the Northern Hemisphere is usually well into the start of its annual cold and flu season — but so far this year, even as the COVID-19 pandemic surges in dozens of countries, the levels of many common seasonal infections remain extremely low. […] In the Southern Hemisphere — now past its winter — seasonal influenza hardly struck at all. That looks as though it might happen in the north, too.
Conversely, some common-cold viruses have thrived, and tantalizing evidence suggests that they might, in some cases, protect against COVID-19. One study of more than 800,000 people, for example, showed that adults who had had cold symptoms within the previous year were less likely to test positive for SARS-CoV-2 — although why this is so remains a mystery. […] One possible explanation is that previous infection with a coronavirus (another cause of the common cold) could confer some immunity to SARS-CoV-2. […] Previous coronavirus infections do seem to generate T cells and B cells — immune-system cells that help to attack and remember pathogens — that can recognize SARS-CoV-2. These pre-existing cells might provide some partial cross-protection against the new coronavirus. A few studies have shown that, because of other coronavirus infections, about one-quarter of people have antibodies that can bind to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. […]
Another way that seasonal colds might be contributing to COVID-19 immunity is that a current rhinovirus infection might interfere directly with SARS-CoV-2 — perhaps by kicking off interferon responses, part of the immune system that inhibits viral reproduction. A study6 by Ware and his colleagues, for example, shows that someone with a rhinovirus infection is 70% less likely to also get a common coronavirus infection, compared with someone who doesn’t have the sniffles.
{ Nature | Continue reading }
The World vs. SARS-CoV-2 | December 15th, 2020 10:47 am

{ Covid-19 death rates per 100,000 population by country | Wikipedia }
The World vs. SARS-CoV-2 | December 7th, 2020 2:59 pm
fake drive-through coronavirus testing sites have been cropping up in recent weeks […] scammers are dressing up like medical professionals and conducting fake, unsanitary tests for money and identity theft, while possibly spreading the virus. […] Reports about such sites have emerged in Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, New York, and Washington state.
{ two cents | Continue reading }
related { Amplification-free detection of SARS-CoV-2 with CRISPR-Cas13a and mobile phone microscopy }
The World vs. SARS-CoV-2, scams and heists | December 5th, 2020 11:47 am

Restaurant A was located on the first floor of a six-story building totaling 96.6 square meters in size (9.2 × 10.5 m) without windows or a ventilation system. […] The index case was infected at a 6.5 m away from the infector and 5 minutes exposure without any direct or indirect contact.
{ Journal of Korean Medical Science | Continue reading }
related { New Orleans swingers’ convention led to 41 Covid-19 infections, event organizer says }
Physics, The World vs. SARS-CoV-2 | December 3rd, 2020 11:21 am

Artificial intelligence model detects asymptomatic Covid-19 infections through cellphone-recorded coughs
The researchers trained the model on tens of thousands of samples of coughs, as well as spoken words. When they fed the model new cough recordings, it accurately identified 98.5 percent of coughs from people who were confirmed to have Covid-19, including 100 percent of coughs from asymptomatics — who reported they did not have symptoms but had tested positive for the virus.
The team is working on incorporating the model into a user-friendly app, which if FDA-approved and adopted on a large scale could potentially be a free, convenient, noninvasive prescreening tool to identify people who are likely to be asymptomatic for Covid-19.
{ Technology Review | Continue reading }
also { Detection of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in saliva with Shrinky-Dink© electrodes }
oil on canvas { Tom Wesselmann, Smoker #11, 1973 }
The World vs. SARS-CoV-2, art | November 16th, 2020 4:56 pm
“A STUDENT IN 6 MINUTES HAD 776 HEAD AND EYE MOVEMENTS” Cheating-detection companies made millions during the pandemic.
Early analysis finds Moderna’s vaccine nearly 95% effective. The biotechnology firm announced that in addition to the high rate of disease prevention overall, the shot reduced severe cases of illness. Moderna’s vaccine, co-developed with Fauci’s institute, is being tested in 30,000 people. [Washington Post]
55 people attended the Aug. 7 [wedding reception. But one of those guests arrived with a coronavirus infection. Over the next 38 days, the virus spread to 176 other people. Seven of them died. None of the victims who lost their lives had attended the party. [LA Times]
Now the autumn is here, and hospitalisations from Covid-19 are currently rising faster in Sweden than in any other country in Europe […] The number of patients hospitalised with Covid-19 is doubling in Sweden every eight days currently, the fastest rate for any European country for which data is available. [Financial Times] _+ Deaths now tracking >40% USA equivalent
Study claims 18% of Covid patients later diagnosed with mental illness such as anxiety, depression or insomnia
Message to Coronavirus from the Tarzan of TikTok [Thanks Tim] +TikTok says the Trump administration has forgotten about trying to ban it, would like to know what’s up
The World vs. SARS-CoV-2 | November 16th, 2020 7:09 am

previously { 15 days ago Slovakia tested almost its entire population, and people who tested positive were quarantined | CNN | Politico }
The World vs. SARS-CoV-2, europe | November 15th, 2020 8:41 am

What makes some COVID patients so much sicker than others? […] Advancing age and underlying medical problems explain only part of the phenomenon […]
In an international study in Science, 10% of nearly 1,000 COVID patients who developed life-threatening pneumonia had antibodies that disable key immune system proteins called interferons. These antibodies — known as autoantibodies because they attack the body itself — were not found at all in 663 people with mild or asymptomatic COVID infections. Only four of 1,227 healthy individuals had the autoantibodies.
In a second Science study by the same team, authors found that an additional 3.5% of critically ill patients had mutations in genes that control the interferons involved in fighting viruses. Given that the body has 500 to 600 of these genes, it’s possible researchers will find more mutations.
{ KHN | Continue reading }
The World vs. SARS-CoV-2 | November 14th, 2020 7:52 pm