What is the origin of SARS-CoV-2? Was it a lab-leak, a field-collection accident, or a standard zoonotic spillover? Examining the evidence, none of these scenarios can be formally ruled out.
Prof Francois Balloux
Director @UGI_at_UCL. Interest in Infectious disease epidemiology, pathogen genomics and global health Mastodon account: @FBalloux@genomic.social
This thread discusses the plausible date for the host jump of SARS-CoV-2 into humans. Evidence suggests that the first case reported in China dates back to 17 November, from a Hubei Province (Wuhan) resident aged 55. The first reported case from Europe is a 42 year-old man with no known link to China or any recent history.
Prof Francois Balloux
Director @UGI_at_UCL. Interest in Infectious disease epidemiology, pathogen genomics and global health Mastodon account: @FBalloux@genomic.social
The US Week 23 2023 Mortality Report shows encouraging news with cancer, as its mortality parallels the baseline for the 15th week in a row. However, it is still elevated to the excess by 2.8%. Non-Natural Cause Mortality curve is also on the rise, indicating that cancer deaths are simply being ascribed to other underlying causes right now.
Ethical Skeptic ☀
Trade Corporate & National Strategy Postgrad Systems Science & Engineering US Naval Intelligence CEO ENTX Biden White House: "Random Dude on Twitter"
Examine the idea of "Immunity Debt" and the logic behind it, and how the Swedish pandemic response allows for debunking this theory. Learn why bigger (and earlier) seasonal waves of infections are expected after circulation of an endemic bug has been transiently suppressed.
Prof Francois Balloux
Director @UGI_at_UCL. Interest in Infectious disease epidemiology, pathogen genomics and global health Mastodon account: @FBalloux@genomic.social
The World Health Organization has issued an update on the Marburg outbreak in Equatorial Guinea. The case count is up to 38 confirmed and probable cases, with at least 89% dead. Get the latest on the outbreak and the steps being taken to contain it.
Helen Branswell 🇺🇦
I cover infectious diseases @statnews. 2020 Polk winner. Nieman '11. She/her. Checkmarked pre-Elon. #Covid #polio #flu https://t.co/httca8ZASg
The CDC reports that infections with gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis have hit an all-time high. Congenital syphilis has soared 203% in the past five years, and can be fatal.
Benjamin Ryan
🔬Health & science reporter | Contributor to: @NYTimes @NBCNews @Guardian @TRF | Other bylines: @WashingtonPost @TheAtlantic | Cancer Survivor | Columbia grad
Gastric cancer is a common and often lethal cancer that can be attributed in large part to an infectious cause. In this week's issue of NEJM, Usui et al. provide compelling evidence for a substantial contribution from hereditary forms of gastric cancer. Learn more about the science behind the study here.
NEJM
The New England Journal of Medicine (https://t.co/YGfDrRsIhE) is the world’s leading medical journal and website.
The preprint reporting the results from 923 environmental and 457 animal samples from the Huanan Seafood market has been extensively revised, expanded and polished. The raw genomic data is also publicly available, but no smoking gun was found to inform on the origin of SARS-CoV-2.
Prof Francois Balloux
Director @UGI_at_UCL. Interest in Infectious disease epidemiology, pathogen genomics and global health Mastodon account: @FBalloux@genomic.social
This blog provides a few facts about Marburg virus (MARV). MARV is a hemorrhagic fever virus (filovirus) related to ebola viruses. It has a broad distribution range in Sub-Saharan Africa and is likely hosted by the Egyptian fruit bat. MARV can also spill over to old world monkeys, non-human primates, and humans.
Prof Francois Balloux
Director @UGI_at_UCL. Interest in Infectious disease epidemiology, pathogen genomics and global health Mastodon account: @FBalloux@genomic.social
Iron fortification of foods is a widespread practice, but it may be causing more harm than good. Learn about the potential risks of iron overload and DNA damage caused by free iron in enriched flour and other foods.
P. D. Mangan Health & Freedom Maximalist 🇺🇸
Microbiologist ➡️ @ManganCoaching. Get lean, fit & 2x energy in 50 mins/week without calorie counting, cardio, or keto. 800+ clients. Apply for 1-on-1 coaching:
Neurodegenerative diseases are commonly adult-onset conditions characterized by degeneration of specific neuronal populations. Aberrant messenger RNA (mRNA) translation is implicated in a range of neurodegenerative diseases, including Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease and others. This article explores the molecular pathogenesis of these diseases and the lack of effective treatments.
NEJM
The New England Journal of Medicine (https://t.co/YGfDrRsIhE) is the world’s leading medical journal and website.
A look at the SARS-CoV-2 escape calculator, which visualizes deep mutational scanning measurements to show key sites, reveals incredible concordance between actual evolution and experiments. This blog examines the insights gained from this calculator.
Bloom Lab
Lab studying molecular evolution of proteins and viruses. Affiliated with @fredhutch @HHMINEWS @uwgenome. @jbloom_lab@mstdn.science
Flu activity has dropped off since its peak around Thanksgiving, but it is still hovering just above the epidemic threshold. Rhinoviruses and human coronaviruses are causing more influenza-like illness than flu is. The burden of illness from this flu season is on the mildish side.
Helen Branswell 🇺🇦
I cover infectious diseases @statnews. 2020 Polk winner. Nieman '11. She/her. Checkmarked pre-Elon. #Covid #polio #flu https://t.co/httca8ZASg
This week's MMWR update from the CDC has some good news - mortality rates are finally off their all-time peak. However, the workload curve is still thick and cancer rates have risen to 9-sigma. Learn more about the implications of this news.
Ethical Skeptic ☀
Trade Corporate & National Strategy Postgrad Systems Science & Engineering US Naval Intelligence CEO ENTX Biden White House: "Random Dude on Twitter"