Wednesday, May 18, 2022
Tuesday, May 17, 2022
Monday, May 16, 2022
The dangers of the COVID-19 spike protein
"SARS-CoV-2 Spike Proteins Disrupt the Blood-Brain Barrier, Potentially Raising Risk of Neurological Damage in COVID-19 Patients"
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12035-021-02696-0
"A lot of people think of it as a respiratory disease, but it's really a vascular disease," says Assistant Research Professor Uri Manor, who is co-senior author of the study. "That could explain why some people have strokes, and why some people have issues in other parts of the body. The commonality between them is that they all have vascular underpinnings."
"If you remove the replicating capabilities of the virus, it still has a major damaging effect on the vascular cells, simply by virtue of its ability to bind to this ACE2 receptor, the S protein receptor, now famous thanks to COVID,"
https://www.salk.edu/news-release/the-novel-coronavirus-spike-protein-plays-additional-key-role-in-illness/
COVID-19 spike proteins may cause neurological issues
There is some previous evidence to suggest that following Covid-19 illness, the spike protein can remain in the bloodstream after the virus has gone and travel far from the site of infection. This research could help explain and ultimately treat some of the effects of severe Covid-19 infection, where levels of the virus are particularly high. "
https://www.bhf.org.uk/what-we-do/news-from-the-bhf/news-archive/2021/august/covid-19-spike-protein-binds-to-and-changes-cells-in-the-heart
Interestingly, it has been shown that HSV-1 spike protein binds to heparin and increases the aggregation of amyloid β (Aβ42) peptides on its surface spikes [11]. This study suggests that the heparin-binding site of the spike protein might act as a binding site for Aβ42 peptides and thus could dock to the viral surface and catalyze aggregation of Aβ42. As the receptor binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2, which is located within the S1 subunit of spike glycoprotein has several heparin binding sites [[12], [13], [14]], the same mechanism of aggregation of neurodegeneration causing proteins such as Aβ, α-synuclein, tau, prions, and TDP-43 can be observed in COVID-19 infection in the brain."
The vaccine spike protein is different.
US fact checking website Health Feedback, which uses experts to verify claims about health science, said Dr Bridle's statement "rests on the assumption that if the viral spike protein causes cardiovascular toxicity in COVID-19 patients, the spike protein produced in vaccinated people should be toxic as well".
However, Health Feedback said this assumption was incorrect: "While both mRNA vaccines and viral vector vaccines carry the instructions to produce the entire spike protein, the cells break down much of the protein into small fragments. Furthermore, unlike infection, the spike protein from COVID-19 vaccination doesn't get assembled into new viral particles."
"Vaccine skeptics have seized on the study to cast doubt on the safety of vaccines. But a review of the study's findings shows that the concerns raised by vaccine doubters are much ado about nothing.
The Study
The vascular endothelium is an important player in the illness and death associated with COVID-19. The endothelium is a system of cells that line and protect the inside of blood vessels. SARS-CoV2 injures the endothelium leading to blood clots, heart attack, pulmonary embolism, and stroke. Despite the established link between COVID-19 and these cardiovascular complications, the mechanism by which they develop is unknown.
Researchers from Jiaotong University; the University of California, San Diego; and the Salk Institute used a pseudovirus coated with spike protein to investigate the effects of the viral protein on endothelial cells. Pseudoviruses – which were first developed over 50 years ago – contain the outer shell of the virus, but they lack the viral genes needed to reproduce.
Hamsters treated with the spike protein coated pseudovirus showed lung damage similar to that seen in humans infected with SARS-CoV2. When researchers added pseudovirus to cultured endothelial cells they found that the mitochondria inside the cells were injured. Since mitochondria are responsible for providing energy to cells, their dysfunction can cause cell death.
When isolated pulmonary arteries were exposed to the spike protein carrying pseudovirus there was some disruption in the ability of the blood vessels to dilate. The decreased ability to expand blood vessels that serve the lungs could impair the ability of the body to take up oxygen from lungs that are damaged by the virus.
The novelty of this study was the discovery that the spike protein itself causes damage, and that the pathway triggered by the spike protein could explain the widespread cardiovascular complications that develop in COVID-19 patients.
A Twisted Tale
Shortly after Lei and colleagues published their study, vaccine skeptics touted the findings as proof that newly developed COVID-19 vaccines are dangerous. Afterall, if COVID-19 vaccines produce spike protein to trigger immunity, and that same spike protein causes injury, then vaccines are really no different than the disease they are designed to prevent.
The problem with these claims is that science doesn't support their arguments.
The Long Road to Perdition....
In order to damage the endothelium of blood vessels, COVID-19 vaccines have to enter the vascular system and infect cells that circulate in the blood. Data collected by the European Medicines Agency shows that no significant amount of vaccine enters the circulation (3). The confinement of the expressed spike protein away from the circulatory system significant prevents it from causing damage to the vascular endothelium.
Redesigning the Spike Protein
The spike protein attaches SARS-CoV2 to cells through a receptor called ACE2. In order to fully interact, the spike protein must undergo a conformational change.
A research team lead by Dr. Barney Graham from the Vaccine Research Center at the NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases created an engineered form of the spike protein that is unable to make the shape change required to effectively bind to cells (5). The Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna, Novavax, and Johnson & Johnson vaccines all use this inactivated spike protein, which means any spike protein that is produced by the vaccine is not able to be activated. This safety-switch limits the ability of the spike protein to bind ACE2 and limits its ability to cause damage.
Stuck in a Hole
In addition to engineering the spike protein so it can not be fully activated the protein is tagged with an extra piece called a "transmembrane anchor" (6). The transmembrane anchor allows the spike protein to appear on the surface – or membrane – of the cell, but it is held in place by the anchor. This prevents the spike protein from drifting away and creates a fixed target for the immune system to recognize the foreign protein."
https://covid19resources.ca/2021/05/13/the-thorny-problem-of-covid-19-vaccines-and-spike-proteins/
So far, there is no scientific evidence available that suggests that spike proteins created in our bodies from the COVID-19 vaccines are toxic or damaging our organs. COVID-19 vaccines are relatively new and long-term side effects are yet to be known. However, the vaccines have met the safety standards of many government and international safety agencies.
Several systems help us monitor vaccine safety. In the United States these include the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), The Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD), the Post-License Rapid Immunization Safety Monitoring (PRISM), and the Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment Project (CISA). These systems are used by scientists to monitor side effects and any other patterns of risks from vaccines.
The COVID-19 vaccine has been administered to 135 million people in the United States. As expected with any vaccine, some fully vaccinated people still got sick, hospitalized, and/or died. These "breakthrough cases" are a very small percentage of those vaccinated (<0.001%) and are being studied to detect any relevant patterns.
So far no scientific evidence is available that gives credence to claims that spike proteins created from vaccines travel in our bloodstreams. Research shows that spike proteins stay stuck to the surface of the cells around the vaccine's injection site. They are not known to wander around to other parts of the body.
A very tiny dose of the vaccine does make it to the bloodstream (about 1%), but as soon as it gets to the liver, the enzymes there destroy it completely. The U.S. CDC refers to the spike protein made from the vaccine as "harmless."
There is no evidence that the spike protein in vaccines "is toxic or that it lingers at any toxic level in the body after vaccination," an FDA spokesperson told us in an email.
Jason McLellan, a structural biologist at the University of Texas at Austin who has been studying spike proteins in other coronaviruses for years and whose work was fundamental for the development of COVID-19 vaccines, said Bridle's statements are not correct.
"The spike protein is not pathogenic. It is not a toxin," McLellan told us in an email. "I have not seen any data to support what Bridle claims."
However, a separate study recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that heart inflammation events are far more likely after COVID-19 infection than vaccination."
"But because reinfection is possible and COVID-19 can cause severe medical complications, it's recommended that people who have already had COVID-19 get a COVID-19 vaccine. A recent study showed that unvaccinated people who already had COVID-19 are more than twice as likely as fully vaccinated people to be reinfected with COVID-19.
Recent research also suggests that people who got COVID-19 in 2020 and then received mRNA vaccines produce very high levels of antibodies that are likely effective against current and, possibly, future variants. Some scientists call this hybrid immunity."
Tuesday, May 10, 2022
Saturday, May 7, 2022
Sunday, May 1, 2022
Stars in the sky
Friday, April 29, 2022
Fact-Checking this Viral Bottle Trick
Watch "The mathematics of weight loss | Ruben Meerman | TEDxQUT on YouTube
Hands down the best scientific explanation of weight loss. The bottomline: eat less and move more.
Wednesday, April 27, 2022
Re: DNA, CO2, Studies, fuel cells and superconducting diodes
Sunday, April 24, 2022
These 200,000-Year-Old Hand and Footprints Could Be the World's Earliest Cave Art
Saturday, April 23, 2022
Study reveals some brain changes, even in mild COVID-19 | CIDRAP
Cognitive tests identified differences between COVID-19 survivors and controls, including a significant increase in the time taken to complete Trails A (numeric; 7.8%) and B (alphanumeric; 12.2%) of the Trail Making Test in COVID-19 participants. These results held true when excluding the 15 hospitalized patients (Trail A, 6.5%; Trail B, 12.5%).
"The infected participants also showed on average larger cognitive decline between the two timepoints," the study authors wrote. "Importantly, these imaging and cognitive longitudinal effects were still seen after excluding the 15 cases who had been hospitalised."
Not all COVID survivors have brain changes
In addition to the modest COVID-19 effect, the study authors noted that the statistics represent an average effect, meaning that not every COVID-19 survivor will experience brain changes.
Thursday, April 21, 2022
Tuesday, April 19, 2022
Fwd: Carl Sagan Predicts Our Countries Future
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: John Coffey <john2001plus@gmail.com>
I had seen this. He has a point that if people don't understand science then they don't know the difference between real science and fake science.
However, most people have very little need or ability to understand science.
Back when they announced that they were going to try to find the "Higgs Boson" using the "Large Hadron Collider", the naturally curious person that I am asked the questions, "What the hell is a 'boson'?", and "What the hell is a 'hadron'?" I have since learned enough physics to understand these concepts. It has become a hobby of mine to study physics. As a result, I have the kind of knowledge that 99% of the population would find useless.
Carl Sagan's show was really good.
However, I don't fully trust him as a source. In his show, Cosmos, he said that free-market capitalism was dangerous. He later bragged about smoking marijuana.
On Tue, Apr 19, 2022 at 5:33 AM Alber wrote:
>
> Carl Sagan's Warning 25 years ago : "We are up for grabs" - YouTube
Saturday, April 16, 2022
Thursday, April 14, 2022
Saturday, April 9, 2022
Solving The Problem Of Human Perception | Jordan Peterson Lecture at The University of Cambridge
Friday, April 8, 2022
Wednesday, April 6, 2022
How long do mRNA and spike proteins last in the body?
10 Years On Mars: Curiosity Finds Plastic Debris!
How ironic it would be if Curiosity were to find plastic on Mars not caused by humans. They say plastic can last forever. How about a billion years?
Best wishes,
John Coffey
Sunday, April 3, 2022
Little Cobra Gets Sips Of Water From A Sprite Bottle During His Rescue
Saturday, April 2, 2022
Law of averages
Re: 50 CAL VS TRAIN TRACK RAIL
I'm impressed. Railroad tracks are made from hot-rolled steel and are designed to be tough.
Best wishes,
John Coffey
Friday, April 1, 2022
Thursday, March 31, 2022
Tuesday, March 29, 2022
Re: Second COVID-19 booster shot authorized for Americans 50 and older - NBC News
You can get your 4th shot now.Second COVID-19 booster shot authorized for Americans 50 and older - NBC News
https://apple.news/AILkUQy3WQ-6spkICRlZNAQ
Monday, March 28, 2022
Fwd: Shanghai
Shanghai a city of 26 million shuts down tunnels, bridges and highways in a covid lockdown to begin mass testing.Oil dropped almost 3% in response.
Sunday, March 27, 2022
Friday, March 25, 2022
Re: High Resolution Sun images
Saturday, March 19, 2022
COVID update
Friday, March 18, 2022
Fwd: Overwhelmed by Omicron, Hong Kong Runs Out of Space for Its Dead - The Wall Street Journal
Date: Fri, Mar 18, 2022 at 1:31 PM
https://apple.news/A4yDI5zQhTHKEqEV1zU4dkw
Monday, March 14, 2022
Fwd: Solid State
But one thing has held back solid-state batteries: Instabilities at the boundary between the solid electrolyte layer and the two electrodes on either side can dramatically shorten the lifetime of such batteries. Some studies have used special coatings to improve the bonding between the layers, but this adds the expense of extra coating steps in the fabrication process. Now, a team of researchers at MIT and Brookhaven National Laboratory have come up with a way of achieving results that equal or surpass the durability of the coated surfaces, but with no need for any coatings.
The new method simply requires eliminating any carbon dioxide present during a critical manufacturing step, called sintering, where the battery materials are heated to create bonding between the cathode and electrolyte layers, which are made of ceramic compounds. Even though the amount of carbon dioxide present is vanishingly small in air, measured in parts per million, its effects turn out to be dramatic and detrimental. Carrying out the sintering step in pure oxygen creates bonds that match the performance of the best coated surfaces, without that extra cost of the coating, the researchers say.
Doubling the range of electric vehicles would make them more practical. However, I remain skeptical of electric vehicles because of the cost. Seems like hybrids are the way to go.
Sunday, March 13, 2022
Saturday, March 12, 2022
Friday, March 11, 2022
Re: The Monty Hall problem and IQ
This video shows the very well known "Monty Hall Problem". Monty Hall was the game show host of Let's Make a Deal. At the end of each show the winning contestant chose door #1, door #2, or door #3. So, if Monty Hall says there are goats behind 2 doors and the grand prize behind one door. So, let's say you pick door #1. Monty now says I'm going to help you by letting you know that door #3 has goats.So, speaking mathematically, should you keep your original pick of door #1. Or should you change your pick to door #2?Btw, normal IQ falls between 85 to 115.
From: John Coffey
Wednesday, March 9, 2022
The Pfizer documents. Adverse effects and death
Tuesday, March 8, 2022
Even Mild Cases of COVID Can Cause Brain Damage and Shrinkage
The damage was equivalent to at least an extra year of aging, Gwenaëlle Douaud, an associate professor at the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences at Oxford and the paper's lead author, told NBC News.
Ivermectin, more evidence
Sunday, March 6, 2022
Saturday, March 5, 2022
Thursday, March 3, 2022
New Study Finds COVID-19 DNA Linked to Moderna Patent Filed in 2016, Sparks Discussion on Lab Leak Theory
"So it doesn't mean very much, to be frank, if you do these types of searches, you can always find matches.
"Sometimes these things happen fortuitously, sometimes it's the result of convergent evolution (when organisms evolve independently to have similar traits to adapt to their environment).
"It's a quirky observation, but I wouldn't call it a smoking gun because it's too small.
"It doesn't get us any further with the debate about whether COVID-19 was engineered," Young said.
A statement from the US drug maker Moderna is awaited, the report said.
Tuesday, March 1, 2022
Pfizer Vaccine Becomes DNA in Liver Cells. (In-vitro Swedish Study)
Saturday, February 26, 2022
Physics and History of Why USA uses 120 volts and not 220 volts
Thursday, February 24, 2022
How long does a COVID booster shot offer protection against omicron?
By comparison, with only two shots of any vaccine, protection against severe disease declines to 40% after six months.
The researchers only have short-term data for the Moderna vaccine, but the results are likely to echo the Pfizer numbers given the similarities of these mRNA vaccines and their comparable behavior with the delta variant.
The findings from the study raise the question of what the future holds for these vaccines, says immunologist Deepta Bhattacharya at the University of Arizona.
"I don't think it's a sustainable strategy to ask people to get boosters of the same vaccine every two months or three months. People just aren't going to do it," he says. "I myself felt awful after I got the second shot."
Perhaps, instead, the goal may need to shift from stopping infections to making sure everyone is protected against severe disease over the long-term.
"Could we get to the point where public health officials recommend a shot once a year," Bhattacharya says. "I think that's fairly likely. Now, whether everyone will absolutely need that shot to prevent severe disease each year, that's a different question, and we'll have to wait for the data
Wednesday, February 23, 2022
Tuesday, February 22, 2022
COVID still threatens millions. So why are so many Americans eager to move on?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a strict definition of who is considered moderately or severely immunocompromised, such as cancer patients undergoing active treatment and organ transplant recipients. Still, millions of other people are living with chronic illnesses or disabilities that also make them especially susceptible to the disease. Though vulnerability differs based on each person and their health condition — and can depend on circumstances — catching COVID is a risk they cannot take.
As a result, these Americans who are at high risk — and the loved ones who fear passing along the virus to them — are speaking out about being left behind as the rest of society drops pandemic safeguards such as masking and physical distancing.
Their fears were amplified this month as several Democratic governors, including the leaders of California and New York — places that were out front in implementing mask mandates early on — moved to lift such safety requirements. To many people, the step signaled that "normal" life was returning. But for people considered immunocompromised or who face high risks from COVID because of other conditions, it upped the level of anxiety.
Pandemic ends Thursday (UK)
Sunday, February 20, 2022
Sunday, February 13, 2022
Friday, February 11, 2022
Risks of myocarditis, pericarditis, and cardiac arrhythmias associated with COVID-19 vaccination or SARS-CoV-2 infection | Nature Medicine
This is the largest study to date of acute cardiac outcomes after SARS-CoV-2 vaccination or infection, the first to compare the risk of cardiac events between different vaccine products and SARS-CoV2 infection and the first to investigate the association between cardiac events and the ChAdOx1 vaccine.
Our findings are relevant to the public, clinicians and policy makers. First, there was an increase in the risk of myocarditis within a week of receiving the first dose of both adenovirus and mRNA vaccines, and a higher increased risk after the second dose of both mRNA vaccines. In contrast, we found no evidence of an increase in the risk of pericarditis or cardiac arrhythmias following vaccination, except in the 1–28 days following a second dose of the mRNA-1273 (Moderna) vaccine. Second, in the same population, there was a greater risk of myocarditis, pericarditis and cardiac arrhythmia following SARS-CoV-2 infection. Third, the increased risk of myocarditis after vaccination was higher in persons aged under 40 years. We estimated extra myocarditis events to be between 1 and 10 per million persons in the month following vaccination, which was substantially lower than the 40 extra events per million persons observed following SARS-CoV-2 infection.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-021-01630-0
Tuesday, February 8, 2022
Sunday, February 6, 2022
Number of active cases
Saturday, February 5, 2022
Electromagnetic radiation
I just heard the claim that using 5G or a cell phone is equivalent to an X-Ray. People make these claims because they don't understand how the electromagnetic spectrum works.