Health & Fitness

12/22/20

It just got a whole lot easier to buy CBD oil in Australia

Model predicts where ticks, Lyme disease will appear next in Midwest states

By drawing from decades of studies, scientists created a timeline marking the arrival of black-legged ticks, also known as deer ticks, in hundreds of counties across 10 Midwestern states. They used these data - along with an analysis of county-level landscape features associated with the spread of ticks - to build a model that can predict where ticks are likely to appear in future years.

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Mouse-controlled mouse helps researchers understand intentional control

Researchers have devised a brain machine interface (BMI) that allows mice to learn to guide a cursor using only their brain activity. By monitoring this mouse-controlled mouse moving to a target location to receive a reward, the researchers were able to study how the brain represents intentional control.

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In shaky times, focus on past successes, if overly anxious, depressed

The more chaotic things get, the harder it is for people with clinical anxiety and/or depression to make sound decisions and to learn from their mistakes. On a positive note, overly anxious and depressed people's judgment can improve if they focus on what they get right, instead of what they get wrong, suggests a new study.

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Pregnant women in third trimester unlikely to pass SARS-CoV-2 infection to newborns

Pregnant women who are infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, during the third trimester are unlikely to pass the infection to their newborns, new research suggests. The study followed 127 pregnant women who were admitted to Boston hospitals during the spring of 2020. Among the 64 pregnant women who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, no newborns tested positive for the virus.

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Hand-held device measures aerosols for coronavirus risk assessment

Understanding aerosol concentrations and persistence in public spaces can help determine infection risks. However, measuring these concentrations is difficult, requiring specialized personnel and equipment. Now, researchers demonstrate that a commercial hand-held particle counter can be used for this purpose and help determine the impacts of risk-reducing measures, like ventilation improvements.

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Bio-inspired endoscope provides 3D visible and near-infrared images simultaneously

Researchers have developed a new bio-inspired medical endoscope that can acquire 3D visible light and near-infrared fluorescence images at the same time. It features an optical design that combines the high-resolution 3D imaging of human vision with the mantis shrimp's capability to simultaneously detect multiple wavelengths of light.

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New drug combination could improve glucose and weight control in diabetes

Surgery may offer survival advantage in certain metastatic breast cancers

What if clean air benefits during COVID-19 shutdown continued post-pandemic?

A new study poses a hypothetical question: What if air quality improvements in New York City during the spring COVID-19 shutdown were sustained for five years without the economic and health costs of the pandemic? Cumulative benefits during this period would amount to thousands of avoided cases of illness and death in children and adults, as well as associated economic benefits between $32 to $77 billion.

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Modeling study suggests mitigation efforts can prevent most college campus COVID-19 cases

As colleges and universities consider strategies for the spring semester to keep COVID-19 cases down, a study in epidemic modeling may help shed light on what mitigation strategies may be most effective, both in terms of infections prevented and cost.

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New method for imaging exhaled breath could provide insights into COVID-19 transmission

Anti-diarrhea drug drives cancer cells to cell death

In cell culture, loperamide, a drug commonly used against diarrhea, proves effective against glioblastoma cells. A research team has now unraveled the drug's mechanisms of action of cell death induction and - in doing so - has shown how this compound could help attack brain tumors that otherwise are difficult to treat.

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Neuroscientists isolate promising mini antibodies against COVID-19 from a llama

Researchers have isolated a set of promising, tiny antibodies, or 'nanobodies,' against SARS-CoV-2 that were produced by a llama named Cormac. Preliminary results suggest that at least one of these nanobodies, called NIH-CoVnb-112, could prevent infections and detect virus particles by grabbing hold of SARS-CoV-2 spike proteins. In addition, the nanobody appeared to work equally well in either liquid or aerosol form, suggesting it could remain effective after inhalation.

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Evolution of a killer: How African Salmonella made the leap from gut to bloodstream

Antibiotics for C-sections effective after umbilical cord clamped

Antibiotics for cesarean section births are just as effective when they're given after the umbilical cord is clamped as before clamping - the current practice - and could benefit newborns' developing microbiomes, according to new research. The study, by far the largest of its kind, challenges current recommendations for antibiotic use. Administering antibiotics after clamping does not increase the risk of infection at the site of C-section incisions, the study concludes.

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Brain tissue yields clues to causes of PTSD

A post-mortem analysis of brain tissue from people who had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may help explain enduring mysteries about the disorder, such as why women are more susceptible to it and whether a dampened immune system response plays a role in dealing with stress, a team has found.

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High-five or thumbs-up? New device detects which hand gesture you want to make

A new device developed by engineers can recognize hand gestures based on electrical signals detected in the forearm. The system, which couples wearable biosensors with artificial intelligence (AI), could one day be used to control prosthetics or to interact with almost any type of electronic device.

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How to be happier in 2021

'If you want to make a New Year's resolution that really makes you happy, think about the ways in which you can contribute to the world, because the research shows it's not just good for the world but also really good for you,' says an international expert on motivational research.

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Potential new drug target to treat cutaneous T cell lymphoma

In order to improve their understanding of how CTCL develops in hopes of developing new therapies, a team of scientists conducted a series of studies. They demonstrate that decreased expression of the protein SATB1 contributes to CTCL development and that drugs that cause SATB1 to become re-expressed may be potential treatment options for this disease.

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Sex-specific Alzheimer's treatment could benefit males over females

Diseased cell fragments burst from pockets in immune cells to activate response

Researchers have uncovered an important process in how our immune system detects signs of disease and activates a protective response. This understanding could improve efforts to find new and effective immunotherapy treatments for diseases like cancer.

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Is SARS-CoV-2 Everywhere?

According to a November 16, 2020, report by Food Safety News,¹ a Chinese investigation has revealed SARS-CoV-2 is present on many imported food products and packaging, and it’s far from a solitary incidence.

“Recent reports include detection of coronavirus on packages of shrimp from Saudi Arabia, fish from India, beef from Brazil and Argentina, and pork from Germany,” Food Safety News writes, adding:²

“The National Service of Agri-Food Health and Quality (SENASA) in Argentina said it was the first time there had been such an incident in products from the country since the pandemic began and it was investigating.

The shipment had entered through the port of Shanghai. On Nov. 9, part of it was transferred to a cold store in Nanjing City, the capital of Jiangsu. On Nov. 10, prior to release to the market, Nanjing authorities tested the product and detected nucleic acid on the outer packaging.”

Norwegian salmon, Brazilian chicken and Ecuadorian shrimp — either the food or its packaging — have also tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. At least nine Chinese provinces have reported finding SARS-CoV-2 RNA in frozen imported food since July 2020.

While the contamination has raised concerns, the International Commission for Microbiological Specifications of Foods (ICMSF) has stated the virus is unlikely to pose a food safety risk, noting that “the mere presence of an infectious agent in a food does not necessarily translate into human infection.”³

SARS-CoV-2 May Hitch Ride on Air Pollution

SARS-CoV-2 has also been found on particles of air pollution. According to The Guardian,⁴ scientists are investigating to determine whether the virus might be able to spread over long distances this way. It’s still unknown whether the virus can remain viable if hitching a ride on particles of pollution, or whether this route would distribute sufficient quantities to actually make someone sick if they inhaled it. According to The Guardian:⁵

“Italian scientists used standard techniques to collect outdoor air pollution samples at one urban and one industrial site in Bergamo province and identified a gene highly specific to COVID-19 in multiple samples. The detection was confirmed by blind testing at an independent laboratory …

A statistical analysis^6,⁷ by Setti’s team suggests higher levels of particle pollution could explain higher rates of infection in parts of northern Italy before a lockdown was imposed, an idea supported by another preliminary analysis.⁸ The region is one of the most polluted in Europe.

The potential role of air pollution particles is linked to the broader question of how the coronavirus is transmitted. Large virus-laden droplets from infected people’s coughs and sneezes fall to the ground within a meter or two. But much smaller droplets, less than 5 microns in diameter, can remain in the air for minutes to hours and travel further …

Researchers say the importance of potential airborne transmission, and the possible boosting role of pollution particles, mean it must not be ruled out without evidence.”

SARS-CoV-2 Can Spread Far Outdoors

Indeed, bacteria, which are much larger than viruses, have no problem traveling through the air, so there’s little reason to doubt that viruses would do so as well.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s October 5, 2020, scientific brief^9,¹⁰ on SARS-CoV-2 points out the virus can spread either through large respiratory droplets (which is the only potential benefit of wearing a mask) or through small airborne particles that “can remain suspended for many minutes to hours and travel far from the source on air currents.”

In 2019, researchers discovered bacteria can be carried thousands of miles through the air,¹¹ which complicates the containment of bacterial outbreaks. Other studies have demonstrated that antibiotic-resistant bacteria can scatter long distances by piggybacking on feedlot dust.¹²

An article¹³ by BGR, published in April 2020, found walkers, runners and cyclists may need to maintain a distance of up to 66 feet in order to avoid exposure when exercising outdoors. BGR writes:¹⁴

“The research,¹⁵ which was conducted by an international team including scientists in Belgium and the Netherlands, studied the impacts of current social distancing mandates when applied to outdoor exercise …

Outdoor trails present a unique challenge, as individuals are breathing heavily and potentially even coughing or sneezing along the way. If a second person is following behind, even at what would be considered a ‘safe’ distance for indoor interaction, they would quickly come into contact with particles in the air that could contain the virus …

Based on the simulations and data, the team suggests that individuals who are walking outdoors should maintain a minimum of four meters (13 feet) of separation.

Runners and casual bikers should try to stay at least 10 meters apart (33 feet), and fast cyclists should attempt to remain at least 20 meters (66 feet) from others using the same trails. The researchers also note that avoiding the direct path of the person in front of you is vital, even when maintaining these distances.”

Nowhere to Run, Nowhere to Hide

The irony here is that the authors make it sound as though you can somehow avoid the virus provided you follow certain rules, like staying a certain distance away and avoiding having another person directly in front of you. Logic would tell you that once the virus is in the air, it’s going to move with the air in whatever direction the air is moving.

Can you hide from wind? Can you hide from air? If these studies tell us anything, it’s that we cannot hide from this virus. We cannot separate ourselves from others far enough to where transmission risk is eliminated.

And, as detailed by Denis Rancourt in our July 2020 interview, the research clearly shows that masks cannot prevent the spread of airborne viruses, so you hiding behind a mask won’t do you much good either. If air can flow through the mask, the virus can flow through as well. All a mask can do is limit the spread of large contaminated respiratory droplets.

The failure of masks is also evident in recent CDC data^16,^17,¹⁸ showing that 71% of COVID-19 patients reported “always” wearing a cloth mask or face covering in the 14 days preceding their illness; 14% reported having worn a mask “often.” In all, 85% of COVID-19 patients had been diligent about mask use, yet this did not protect them from the virus.

Health Experts Call for Herd Immunity Approach

Considering we cannot hide from the virus, the least destructive path forward would be to implement the advice given by the authors of the Great Barrington Declaration, which calls for “focused protection”:¹⁹

“We know that vulnerability to death from COVID-19 is more than a thousand-fold higher in the old and infirm than the young. Indeed, for children, COVID-19 is less dangerous than many other harms, including influenza.

As immunity builds in the population, the risk of infection to all — including the vulnerable — falls. We know that all populations will eventually reach herd immunity — i.e. the point at which the rate of new infections is stable — and that this can be assisted by (but is not dependent upon) a vaccine. Our goal should therefore be to minimize mortality and social harm until we reach herd immunity.

The most compassionate approach that balances the risks and benefits of reaching herd immunity, is to allow those who are at minimal risk of death to live their lives normally to build up immunity to the virus through natural infection, while better protecting those who are at highest risk. We call this Focused Protection.”

As of November 19, 2020, it had been signed by 35,236 medical practitioners (including yours truly), 12,115 medical and public health scientists, and 638,921 concerned citizens.²⁰ If you would like life to return to some semblance of normal any time soon, you may consider signing the declaration. The greater the number of people pushing back against continued lockdowns, the more likely we are to influence our decision makers.

Consider Peaceful Civil Disobedience

Clearly, most people are being bombarded with mainstream media propaganda that seeks to convince you that masks are necessary to prevent the spread of COVID-19. So, it is entirely understandable that you would want everyone to wear masks because you believe they will save lives.

However, if you carefully evaluate the evidence, independent of the mainstream narrative, it is likely you will conclude that this recommendation has nothing to do with decreasing the spread of the virus but more to indoctrinate you into submission.

In my interview with financial analyst Patrick Wood, he provides compelling evidence that this has been a carefully crafted technocratic strategy that has been in place for the last 50 years or so. By submitting to unconstitutional orders such as mask wearing, self-isolation and lockdowns, we are likely setting the stage for mandatory vaccinations, tracking and tracing. It’s all part of the Great Reset plan.

With COVID-19 fatality rates^21,^22,²³ as low as they are, mandatory mask wearing, social distancing, lockdowns and business shut-downs are not only ineffective and unnecessary, but these measures are also causing a global economic collapse. It appears the only justification for this strategy is to increase fear, tyranny and transfer of wealth to the technocratic elite.

Remember back in March 2020 when they said we just need to “flatten the curve” and slow down the rate of infection to avoid overcrowding hospitals? How did we go from that to now having to wear masks everywhere until every trace of the virus has been eliminated, even though a vast majority remain asymptomatic and don’t even know they have the virus unless they get tested?

Now, so-called “health passports” are being rolled out, and it’s only a matter of time before COVID-19 vaccination will be required for travel. For months, many have been saying “It’s just a mask. What’s the big deal? Wear it so we can end this pandemic.” Soon, that will be replaced with “It’s just a vaccine. What’s the big deal? Take it so we can all go back to normal.”

Alas, there will be no going back to normal unless we make a fuss. It’s becoming increasingly clear that the Great Reset is anything but the promise of utopia. What they’re trying to get us to accept is a dystopian nightmare of an existence where there is neither privacy nor freedom to speak of.

Getting us to don our masks is nothing more than a soft indoctrination. It’s teaching us to obey without question — a perfect example of which is when Dr. Anthony Fauci recently stated that it’s time for Americans to abandon their independent spirit and “do what you’re told.”²⁴

Overall, it seems the best way to avoid a much more harrowing fight down the road is to engage in civil disobedience now, because once the Great Reset has been fully implemented, dissent will no longer be possible. For practical strategies on how you can respond in light of all the tyrannical interventions that have been imposed on us, check out James Corbett’s interview with Howard Lichtman below.

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Why Has the Flu Disappeared?

With COVID-19 still dominating headlines, influenza (flu) has been conspicuous in its absence, especially during what is typically peak flu season. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tracks influenza (flu) and pneumonia deaths weekly through the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Mortality Reporting System.

It also creates a preliminary estimate of the burden of seasonal flu, based on crude rates of lab-confirmed flu hospitalizations. Such estimates are intended to give an idea of how many people have been sick from or died from the flu in any given season — that is, except for 2020.

“April 4, 2020, was the last week in-season preliminary burden estimates were provided,” the CDC wrote on its 2019-2020 U.S. flu season webpage.¹ The reason the estimates stopped in April is because flu cases plummeted so low that they’re hardly worth tracking. In an update posted December 3, 2020, the CDC stated:²

“The model used to generate influenza in-season preliminary burden estimates uses current season flu hospitalization data. Reported flu hospitalizations are too low at this time to generate an estimate.”

They also added, “The number of hospitalizations estimated so far this season is lower than end-of-season total hospitalization estimates for any season since CDC began making these estimates.”³

Flu Deaths Plummet While COVID Cases Rise

In late summer 2020, warnings surfaced that there might soon be a “twin-demic” of flu and COVID-19 that would decimate the globe.⁴ So far, this hasn’t panned out. In the U.S., the CDC reported that the percentage of respiratory specimens submitted for influenza testing that test positive decreased from greater than 20% to 2.3% since the start of the pandemic.

As of September 18, 2020, they noted that positive influenza tests have “remained at historically low interseasonal levels (0.2% versus 1 to 2%).”⁵ Further, from September 29, 2019-February 29, 2020 to March 1-May 16, 2020, the CDC noted a 98% decrease in influenza activity.⁶

Similar drops have been observed worldwide, including in the Southern Hemisphere countries of Australia, Chile and Southern Africa, which often serve as sentinels for influenza activity in the U.S.

All three areas had very low influenza activity during June to August 2020, which is their peak flu season. From April to July 2020, only 33 influenza positive test results were detected in Australia; 12 in Chile; and six in South Africa, for a total of 51 positive tests. For comparison, during April to July in 2017 to 2019, 24,512 specimens tested positive for influenza.⁷

It was initially thought that the steep drops in influenza activity were due to decreased testing, since people with respiratory symptoms likely received COVID-19 tests instead. However, according to the CDC, public health officials have made a concerted effort to test for flu, and even though “adequate numbers” have been tested, little to no flu virus has been detected.

In Australia, meanwhile, they tested “markedly more specimens for influenza” this season than usual, yet still detected very few cases of flu.⁸ So what happened to the flu?

CDC Tracking Combines COVID, Flu and Pneumonia Deaths

The “COVID” deaths the CDC has been reporting are actually a combination of pneumonia, flu and COVID-deaths, under a new category listed as "PIC" (pneumonia, Influenza, COVID).

Their COVIDView webpage, which provides a weekly surveillance summary of U.S. COVID-19 activity, states that levels of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and “associated illnesses” have been increasing since September 2020, while the percentage of deaths due to pneumonia, flu and COVID-19 has been on the rise since October.⁹

As noted by professor William M. Briggs, a statistical consultant and policy adviser at the Heartland Institute, a free-market think tank, in the video above, “CDC, up until about July 2020, counted flu and pneumonia deaths separately, been doing this forever, then just mysteriously stopped … It’s become very difficult to tell the difference between these,” referring to the combined tracking of deaths from “PIC.” They’re even using PIC to state that cases are above the epidemic threshold:¹⁰

"Based on death certificate data, the percentage of deaths attributed to PIC for week 49 was 14.3% and remains above the epidemic threshold.

The weekly percentages of deaths due to PIC increased for seven weeks from early October through mid-November and are expected to increase for the most recent weeks as additional data are reported. Hospitalization rates for the most recent week are also expected to increase as additional data are reported."

Did Masks and Lockdowns Stop the Spread of Flu?

It could appear that flu hasn’t just vanished into thin air but rather cases could be being mistaken for COVID-19 — or even intentionally mislabeled as such. Another theory centers on viral interference, which is the phenomenon in which a cell infected by a virus becomes resistant to other viruses;¹¹ basically, cells are rarely infected with more than one virus, so COVID-19 could be winning out over influenza.

However, with COVID-19 being such a novel virus, with reportedly only a minority of the population having been exposed, there should still be plenty of room for influenza to spread.¹²

According to the CDC, however, flu cases began to decline in response to “widespread adoption of community mitigation measures to reduce transmission of SARS-CoV-2.” In other words, they believe that flu cases have plummeted because of the widespread adoption of mask wearing, social distancing and lockdowns.

In their MMWR weekly report released September 18, 2020, they state, “In the United States, influenza virus circulation declined sharply within 2 weeks of the COVID-19 emergency declaration and widespread implementation of community mitigation measures, including school closures, social distancing and mask wearing, although the exact timing varied by location.”¹³

But here again this leaves many unanswered questions, the primary one being why, if the COVID-19 mitigation efforts are so effective against the spread of flu, are COVID cases still rising? The two viruses are spread basically the same way. As Irish science journalist Peter Andrews put it in RT:¹⁴

“The scientific establishment is quickly forming ranks behind the theory that the flu has gone away because of Covid restrictions — especially masks, social distancing and lockdowns.

They ‘overwhelmingly agree’ that this is so; their certainty is remarkable at this early stage. But why would these measures have worked so unintentionally well for flu, which has been with us for millennia, but Covid cases are still skyrocketing? Do masks let one particle through and stop another?

The proponents of this theory have an explanation. They claim that people with Covid are more contagious than those with flu. It has a longer ‘incubation period’ than flu does, and its ‘R rate’ is three times higher than that of flu. But even if all of these estimates were right, there is still the unanswered question of why flu would have been eradicated so completely.”

Problems With Lockdowns

When asked whether he believes lockdowns were responsible for getting rid of the flu, Briggs said in the video, “No, absolutely not. Lockdowns only help spread the flu … Locking down the healthy, quarantining the healthy, is asinine.” Briggs believes that lockdowns would only increase flu infection because the virus spreads more easily when people spend more time indoors, in close quarters with others, in dry, indoor air.

He also pointed to lockdown failures, like the one that occurred in New York City. The mortality rate from COVID-19 reached beyond 50 deaths per million per day in April 2020, despite a full lockdown being implemented in March. The state ordered nursing homes to accept COVID-19 positive patients from hospitals until May 10, when the order was reversed, but by then the virus was already ravaging nursing homes’ elderly residents — the most vulnerable.

“By facilitating the transmission of the virus from hospitals to nursing homes, the rate of spread within the elderly population was maximized, and any possible benefit from lockdown of the young and healthy population was rendered moot,” Dr. Gilbert Berdine, an associate professor of medicine at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, explained.¹⁵

Social Distancing and Masks to Stay to Fight Flu?

The CDC is already using the mysteriously low number of flu cases this season as an impetus to suggest that masks, school closures and social distancing could become the new normal every fall to combat the upcoming flu season:

“If extensive community mitigation measures continue throughout the fall, influenza activity in the United States might remain low and the season might be blunted or delayed. In the future, some of these community mitigation measures could be implemented during influenza epidemics to reduce transmission, particularly in populations at highest risk for developing severe disease or complications.”¹⁶

Meanwhile, even while stating that flu cases are next to nonexistent this season, and that the COVID-19 mitigation measures already in place are likely effective at curbing its spread — they still want you to get your flu shot, “especially this season”:¹⁷

“Given the novelty of the COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainty of continued community mitigation measures, it is important to plan for seasonal influenza circulation in the United States this fall and winter. Influenza vaccination of all persons aged ≥6 months remains the best method for influenza prevention and is especially important this season when SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus might cocirculate.”

If you want to be proactive, it’s worth remembering that flu shots are controversial, and your chances of getting influenza after vaccination are still greater than 50/50 in any given year.

According to CDC data, for example, the 2017-2018 seasonal influenza vaccine's effectiveness against "influenza A and influenza B virus infection associated with medically attended acute respiratory illness" was just 36%.¹⁸ Meanwhile, we already know that vitamin D optimization is a good idea, not only for COVID-19 but also for influenza.

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