Recent content by Laroxe

This is a bit dated now but describes how thinking has changed over time. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmolb.2018.00020/full This also needs an update but describes some of the problems in understanding modern genetics, it shows how a lot of work considered current and...

You are of course right, our immune system targets a wide range of viral proteins which influence our responses to future exposures. Some of these viral proteins can indeed be shared with other virus's, particularly those closely related to the SARS-Cov2, and these include several coronaviruses...

I expect that the general interest in the Covid variants will fade soon, the virus will continue to mutate, as does the flu virus, but no one really talks about the flu variants, unless its a pandemic variant. I suspect we will see variations in the mortality estimates, it happens with flu but...

I had heard about people experiencing prolonged or repeated episodes of inflammation at the vaccination site, but couldn't really make much sense of it. However apparently it does happen and it may i fact be quite common. We know that even though the mRNA from the vaccine, primarily acts on the...

Its worth remembering that the main requirement for plant growth is sunlight and CO2 and once a liquid is exposed to air other things get in there. Mechanical filters simply concentrate any solids in the water, so become good growth media. So storing previously boiled water in the dark with a...

It's worth remembering that the presence of moles is the norm, they are rare at birth, but a survey in Australia suggested that by the age of 15 most children will have around 50 moles. They frequently appear for the first time during childhood and following periods of significant hormonal...

I was wondering about the conclusion, I think its true that humans are motivated to explain what they see in the natural world. Accurate (and sometimes inaccurate) allow us to predict future events and their possible outcomes, it reduces the fear of facing a future full of unknown threats...

Well, it appears you are in good company, particularly when in comes to long covid. I will say I started writing a reply about this which was getting long, but for some unexplained reason it disappeared into the ether. It does seem to be an issue among researchers that the long term effects of...

The answer, like most things in genetics, is rather more complicated and issues like dominance may not be very helpful though the genes for dark hair are far more common across the globe. I am not convinced that continuing to teach the Mendelian single gene approach to genetics is useful, its...

Apparently it does have a function but in some types of atrial fibrillation it appears to be the source of clots, which form emboli. There appears to be a continuing debate as to whether the benefits outweigh the potential risks. In the UK it is only recommended for people who can't tolerate...

I'm not trying to defend the use of PFAS but it is a complex issue. Our environment is awash with potential toxins and our own body as a by product of metabolism produces some of the more dangerous. We need to remember that most of the organisms we use as food sources are not happy about this...

Well no, I was talking about both, but pointing out some of the difficulties. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-01697-4

Well, the qualifying statements first; the first issue is in the number of PFAS along with the number of different plastics and processes involved in producing them. These often have very different properties, and it's very unlikely that any one process will effectively remove them all. Having...

The problem with PFAS and plastics generally are really associated with the huge number of different compounds and the lack of clear data around adverse health effects. As yet, the public are unconvinced that this issue represents a significant risk. I actually do think that the fearmongering of...

It's difficult to make much sense out of the information in the media, while there is a lot of info around increased risk for all sorts of post covid or even post vaccination problems, the whole debate still lacks context. The issue continues to be about risk and the fact remains that simply...