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Wednesday, February 24, 2021
OrCam Read - For theVisually Impaired
Monday, February 22, 2021
Some Covid-19 Vaccines Are Effective After One Dose, Can Be Stored in Normal Freezers, Data Show - WSJ
The daily story of the covid19 vaccine is a story of poor logistics and outright lies. The plan for distribution was not well thought out. Perhaps it was written down in a "playbook" and it was not implemented as written. Although the vaccine was developed in record time, the amounts to be produced were exaggerated to fit political ambitions during a year of a Presidential election. It was delayed by political rhetoric, and the covid pandemic itself requiring distancing, masking, and sanitizing requirements. It is an ongoing learning experience.
Some Covid-19 Vaccines Are Effective After One Dose, Can Be Stored in Normal Freezers, Data Show - WSJ: In a win for global vaccination goals, the BioNTech-Pfizer vaccine is shown to generate a strong response with one dose and to maintain potency in standard freezers for two weeks.
Monday, February 15, 2021
Build a Revolutionary Healthcare Model
Forward came inin January 2016 by former executives and engineering leaders from Google and Uber and led by serial entrepreneur Adrian Aoun. Forward was funded by some of the world's best
investors and entrepreneurs including First Round Capital, Eric Schmidt (Google/Alphabet chairman), Marc Benioff (Salesforce founder), Joe Lonsdale (Palantir founder), Joshua Kushner (Oscar co-founder), and Garrett Camp (Uber co-founder)The methamphetamine crisis silently burns in the background. – Scientific Inquirer
Monday, January 25, 2021
Covid 19 vaccine was not a miracle...read more
Many politicians claim the vaccine is a miracle, however like magic the truth is in the science.
Over 15 years ago, in California, proposition 71 was presented to the voters to create the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine and funded it with a 3 billion dollar bond issue. This occurred when then President George Bush placed a ban on harvesting human fetal tissue for stem cell research. The reason was the hot topics of right to life and faith issues. It was a political issue.
The CIRM allowed stem cell research to continue using adult stem cells in lieu of fetal stem cells. Certain adult organs contained primitive and only partially differentiated stem cells. Tissues that rapidly multiply such as bone marrow and skin were likely candidates. Fortunately, this hypothesis was true.
This formed the foundation for the Moderna and Pfizer-Bionet covid 19 vaccines. CIRM is an interesting story in itself and worth reading about.
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Sunday, January 17, 2021
Cancer patients and Covid 19 Vaccinations.
As two new COVID-19 vaccines become more widely available, patients with cancer and cancer survivors may wonder if it's safe to be vaccinated.
"Because cancer patients and survivors are at higher risk for severe effects from COVID-19 infection, we recommend they get vaccinated as soon as they can," says Robert McWilliams, M.D., a medical oncologist at Mayo Clinic. "Patients who are immunosuppressed due to active cancer treatment may not get the same effective response as someone without immune compromise, but it should still be safe for them to receive the vaccine."
There is no definitive data on the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna in patients with cancer or cancer survivors. "However, the few patients with cancer who were studied as part of the clinical trials leading to the approval of these vaccines did not experience any unique side effects," says Joleen Hubbard, M.D., a medical oncologist at Mayo Clinic.
The good news for patients with cancer and cancer survivors is that the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines are not live virus vaccines. That makes them less likely to cause side effects in immunosuppressed patients. "Both vaccines are mRNA (messenger RNA) vaccines, which means they teach our bodies how to make a protein that will trigger an immune response without the use of a live virus that causes COVID-19," says Dr. Hubbard. "Once triggered by the protein, our immune system makes antibodies to protect us if we are exposed to the virus."
Sunday, January 10, 2021
The Relationship Between Alzheimer’s Disease and Diabetes
Inside Neuroscience: The Relationship Between Alzheimer’s Disease and Diabetes
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, affecting over 50 million people worldwide, with rates expected to triple in the next 30 years. The disease is characterized by aggregates of amyloid-beta outside neurons and tangles of hyperphosphorylated tau within neurons. More recently, evidence suggests a disturbance in glucose metabolism in the Alzheimer’s brain as well, although whether this is a cause or symptom of the disease remains unclear. Type 2 diabetes — in which blood glucose levels are elevated — increases the risk for Alzheimer’s disease about two-fold.
A better understanding of the relationship between these two diseases may yield novel therapies. At the Neuroscience 2019 press conference “Untangling the Link Between Diabetes and Alzheimer’s Disease,” researchers shared new insights into how glucose metabolism problems and Alzheimer’s pathology could be related, disrupted, and potentially fixed.
Monday, January 4, 2021
Test your knowledge about Viruses Quiz gone viral - Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Self-Checker
Tuesday, December 29, 2020
Dr. Vivek Murthy Champions the Power of Togetherness
Friday, December 18, 2020
Type of mask matters for COVID-19 protection. – Scientific Inquirer
Best Not as Safe Useless for COVID
Tuesday, December 15, 2020
To Vaccinate or not to Vaccinate
That is the question, and the answer is a definite and resounding yes. There are many 'anti-vaxxers' out there. No matter what the vaccine their clear message is 'hell no, I won't go' or over my dead body (and that can happen)
Even if you have had previous vaccines and had a reaction, the COVID19 vaccine is a totally new game in town. It does not use a whole viral particle, live, or deactivated. The covid protein spike cannot reproduce. It is not grown in an egg or any other living cell. There is little to no chance of an allergic reaction.
There are many reasons to get the vaccine. For your own protection, to prevent someone else who may be at risk of death due to age, compromised immunity or chronic health issues. Children are important as well even though most do not get very sick or even have symptoms, and just carriers. Children represent a large viral pool in the general population and will spread it to other children and adults.
No one has mentioned that SARS viruses mutate often, at times into even worse viral pathogens. The more viral divisions, the greater the chance of a harmful genetic mutation. The longer the pandemic lasts the increased chance of another even more severe novel Corona Virus. How much time we have, no one really knows. SARS outbreaks occur at 10-15 year intervals from past experience. But not one can be certain.
In addition to the usual concerns, there is a new excuse for not vaccinating. This has to do with the new manufacturing process using messenger RNA. There is some confusion. Some patients think that Messenger RNA is being injected into humans and the vaccine is generated in our own cells. There is concern that this is human genetic engineering. There are no human genes involved.
Messenger RNA is not injected into humans. The only substance injected is the coronavirus protein spike which is manufactured in a laboratory container filled with the correct amino acids and a specific mRNA to construct an artificial protein spike.
The artificial covid spike is so unstable that it must be kept very cold in order to prevent it from degrading. Not only do the amino acids have to be in the correct sequence the protein must be in a specific 3D shape held together by the bonding of the amino acids in order to be active. Scientists have been at work developing the technique for more than 25 years.
The FDA consults with scientists who have no conflicting interest and who review all the literature dating back to the seminal articles of DNA, RNA, proteomics, and manufacturing processes down to inspection of pharmaceutical plants. The FDA has enforcement authority to shut down any plant not meeting their regulations for deviations from the manufacturing process, lack of sterility, and more. The process is exhaustive.
The Manufacturing Sounds of a Virus
Marcus Buehler's Sound Cloud Music of Virus Production
Graphic Representations of Covid 19 Vaccine Production
Tracking the Development of COVID19 Vaccine
Thousands of scientists were involved in developing a safe and effective vaccine. This groundbreaking development is a catalytic innovation and a paradigm shift for vaccine production reducing the process from several years to several months.
And the winners are: BionTech/Pfizer and Moderna
Covid 19 Depression ?
Health Train Express today is focusing on mental health, whether it is depression, anxiety or fear. All of those are a natural outcome of what we all have experienced with COVID 19. This may have affected young people even more than adults or older people. Children and adolescents are highly social in a critical time of development learning to socialize and deal with adolescent anxiety and changes. Most of these ideas will help you and your kids. Arrested social development can be a serious long term outcome of COVID19, as schools are closed. Remote learning is not suitable for children who complain they miss their friends.
Health Train Express does not usually endorse specific products, however today we are making an exception, and the reason is a unique partnership with Synctuition. This partnership will promote Health Train Express on their site, and also some of their content will appear here today and in the future.
Like any other major, worldwide events, the COVID-19 crisis has forever changed our routines and the way we see life. It has also reshaped our romantic relationships. As several nations across the world slowly emerge from lockdown, we reflect on the way we’ve been separated from our loved ones or been obliged to live in close proximity with our partners. Every experience has been unique, but it has raised some concerns.
For some, the high confinement has created tensions and caused serious conflict. In March, for example, China saw a dramatic peak in divorce requests. Something similar has happened in other European nations.
However, this is not something exclusive of the current health emergency. Romantic relationships are hard work. With everything going around you — your career, children, hobbies, and personal goals — it’s easy to lose sight of how much you care about your significant other. Especially when you’re going through a rough patch.
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