Sunday, May 18, 2025

christina''s world

 


wikipedia:

The woman in the painting is Anna Christina Olson (May 3, 1893 – January 27, 1968). Anna had a degenerative muscular disorder, possibly polio or Charcot-Marie-Tooth disorder, which left her unable to walk.[1] She was firmly against using a wheelchair, so would crawl everywhere. Wyeth was inspired to create the painting when he saw her crawling across a field while he was watching from a window in the house

Saturday, May 17, 2025

Lab leak: accidental and deliberate

 

By the way: The Dept of Defense funded a grant to Ecohealth to put up labs to investigate germs in wild animals. A sharp eyed leftist in the government saw this was funded by the DoD not the HHS, and got it stopped, but the money was still waiting there on the website as of last week. But the good news is that today it was no longer there, and it said the grand was finished: I presume it reached it's terminal time but maybe it was because it was used?

Even Grok doesn't know:

The EcoHealth Alliance grant from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) for work in the Philippines, specifically aimed at "reducing the threat of viral spillover from wildlife," was awarded in December 2022 with a value of $3 million. According to information from USAspending.gov, this grant was set to run through 2025. However, there is no definitive evidence in the provided references confirming whether this specific grant remains active or has been terminated as of May 18, 2025.

last week the site was still up and the funds unused. Today the site says 

Project Grant

FAIN

HDTRA12310006

Completed

 Lots of stuff at that site but it's written in legalese and I am too senile to understand... but it looks like the programs are still going on.

Well, anyway, back to the Grok Answer: And they do note that Ecohealth was canceled by HHS/NIH in 2024, but note about the Dept of Defense also funds them.

Separately, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) suspended all federal funding to EcoHealth Alliance in May 2024, citing the organization’s failure to adequately monitor and report on risky virus experiments, particularly related to its work with the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

 

This suspension includes three active National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants and proposes debarment, which would prevent EcoHealth from receiving future federal funding.

 

While the HHS suspension primarily references NIH grants, it raises questions about the status of other federal funding, including DoD grants, given the broad scope of the suspension.

well, as I noted above the DoD funding to Ecohealth was still alive and well until last week but is now no longer on line. 

Grok continues:


Additionally, a post on X from January 2024 claimed the DoD grant to EcoHealth was active until 2025, but this is not conclusive evidence, as X posts can be unreliable. There is no direct confirmation in the provided sources that the DoD grant for the Philippine biolab was terminated, but the HHS action could potentially affect all federal grants, including those from the DoD.

 

Conclusion: As of the latest available information, the DoD grant to EcoHealth Alliance for work in the Philippines was active as of early 2024, with an intended duration until 2025. However, the HHS suspension of all EcoHealth federal funding in May 2024 may have impacted this grant’s status. Without specific confirmation of termination or continuation, the status remains unclear. For precise details, checking official records on USAspending.gov or contacting the DoD directly would be necessary.


here is an article from 2022 telling the Phil Government to beware:


More importantly, the EcoHealth Alliance has also been receiving funding from the US Department of Defense’s Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), which raises further questions on the full nature of its operations.
To recall, the US DTRA has funded an Animal Biosecurity Laboratory in Tarlac, including six other Regional Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratories (RADDLs) in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao amounting around $23 million. Concerns have previously been raised on the real objectives of the biosecurity project itself, as the US DTRA is an agency under the DoD, which may have unstated military objectives in pursuing the biosecurity project to completion. With the EcoHealth Alliance’s links with parties which may have objectives other than purely scientific research, the PH government should breadth of EcoHealth Alliance activities in the Philippines. In its website, the NGO lists three projects currently being undertaken in the Philippines. This includes PREDICT, bat conservation and EIDR (Emerging Infectious Disease Repository). The PREDICT project seeks to “identify new emerging infectious diseases that could become a threat to human health” while EIDR seeks to “unravel the origins of Emerging Infectious Disease (EID) events.”

Thursday, May 8, 2025

history of the Black death

 Most accounts are written from a European standpoint and ignore that it also affected Asia.


Tuesday, May 6, 2025

Hepatitis A Strikes again in California (this time LA)

 from the Phil Inquirer:

there has been an increase in hep A detected in waste water, but the officials do note that it is probably not a risk to the general public:

they rcommend shots of course, but note that the best way not to get it is to wash your hands (and food).


The department said it is working with homeless service providers to inform unhoused people about the outbreak, and assist those with symptoms. The department has confirmed 29 hepatitis A cases in the first five months of 2025. Last year, county officials reported 165 cases — triple the number of cases in 2023. Public Health officials noted that although unhoused individuals face a higher risk of hepatitis A due to limited access to handwashing and restrooms, most of the 29 reported cases have involved people without travel or housing-related risk factors.

un housed individuals? That is not the same as the homeless population but I guess the term is politically correct.

it also mentions the San Diego epidemic, that was ignored for months until they finally decided to stop it with a multi pronged approach of cleaning up homeless areas and giving out shots,,,. and no mention of drugs being behind the increase in the homeless population. Must be polite you know.

Thursday, May 1, 2025

IT'S MAY

Lovely Lady Dressed in Blue 

Lovely Lady dressed in blue 
 Teach me how to pray! 
 God was just your little boy, 
 Tell me what to say! 
 Did you lift Him up, sometimes, 
 Gently on your knee? 
 Did you sing to Him the way 
 Mother does to me? 
Did you hold His hand at night? 
 Did you ever try 
 Telling stories of the world? 
 O! And did He cry? 

 Do you really think He cares 
 If I tell Him things ------- 
 Little things that happen? 
And Do the Angels' wings 
 Make a noise? 
And can He hear Me if I speak low? 
Does He understand me now? '
Tell me -------for you know. 
 Lovely Lady dressed in blue ------- 
Teach me how to pray! 
 God was just your little boy, 
 And you know the way.


Mary Dixon Thayer

..........

All things rising, all things sizing Mary sees, sympathising With that world of good, Nature's motherhood. Their magnifying of each its kind With delight calls to mind How she did in her stored Magnify the Lord.

Gerard Manley Hopkins ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,]

it's May

Wednesday, April 30, 2025

good news

Saturday, April 26, 2025

MPOX in Philippines

Inquirer link

In South Cotabato, the IPHO is closely monitoring two cases of suspected Mpox infection.,,,Serame said one of the two patients was from nearby province but sought consultations in South Cotabato while the other is from the province but had travel history

so I asked Grok, and even they said there was no information on where the infection came from

however, back in Sept 2024 there were two cases in Minadano and 14 cases in Manila.

a>

this is spread via close contact: so did they visit Africa? Was it spread via sex tourism? Or did it enter the Philippines with imported monkeys? This is how Ebola Reston entered the Philippines and later spread to pigs and their human caretakers in a nearby town a couple years ago.

but this study

from Thailand suggests yes there is a spread via sex tourism:

Travel Med Infect Dis. 2023 May 30;54:102597. doi: 10.1016/j.tmaid.2023.102597 The silent, rapidly unfolding threat of mpox spread via international travel to Southeast Asia: Are we ready?

At the time of this writing, over 84,000 laboratory-confirmed cases and 75 deaths have been identified in 110 countries. Additionally, despite the downward trend in the past months, a 7-day increase of 48.7% has been observed in early December 2022 before decreasing in following weeks. Singapore declared the first imported case in Southeast Asia during the present outbreak, with 38 mpox cases detected in the region as of 5 January 2023 (Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand) (https://www.cdc.gov/poxvirus/monkeypox/response/2022/world-map.html). Interestingly, the first autochthonous case in Singapore was identified 2 weeks after detection of the first imported case, with no direct epidemiological link between these two cases. This phenomenon reflects the looming threat of a potential outbreak that could easily spill over to the entire Southeast Asia region. Although recent mathematical modelling suggests no direct association of mpox outbreaks with air travel, these models could be used to assess the probability of an indirect association with air travel [9]. The situation throughout Southeast Asia is fluid, which raises public health concerns regarding the possibility of importing mpox via international travel, subsequently leading to community transmission, especially in places where tourism has resumed during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Thursday, April 24, 2025

health interview

 for watching later:


Monday, April 21, 2025

Blame the squirrels

Nature Magazine reveals

An animal source of mpox emerges — and it’s a squirrel 

Researchers solve the mystery of a disease outbreak through long-term surveillance of wildlife in Africa. an international team of scientists suggests that it has an answer: the fire-footed rope squirrel (Funisciurus pyrropus), a forest-dwelling rodent found in West and Central Africa1.

 

Monkeypox in Africa: the science the world ignored Although the name ‘monkeypox’ comes from the virus’s discovery in laboratory monkeys in 1958, researchers have long suspected rodents and other small mammals in Africa of being reservoir hosts.
And studies published in the past year2,3 have demonstrated that African outbreaks of mpox, the disease caused by the virus, have been fuelled by several transmission events from animals to humans.

Three pieces of evidence then led the researchers to conclude that Bako, who survived the infection without developing symptoms, had caught the virus after eating a fire-footed rope squirrel.
The first was that they observed mangabeys hunt and eat F. pyrropus. The second was that they found an F. pyrropus carcass teeming with a virus identical to the one infecting the mangabeys one month before Bako’s faecal samples turned positive. And finally, they identified F. pyrropus DNA in the earliest positive faecal sample from Bako.

 not yet proven: do humans first get it from eating monkeys or from eating squirrels?

according to the CDC, several animals do carry mPox: including   monkeys, anteaters, hedgehogs, prairie dogs, squirrels, and shrews...and it was prairie dogs, who were the source of a 2003 outbreak.

well, one does hope they didn't catch it from gerbilling.

well I asked grok and it said no:

....The idea of gerbilling as a transmission route is not supported by any peer-reviewed studies, public health reports, or data from the World Health Organization, CDC, or other authoritative sources....  

 

headsup
Dave Barry who has an ongoing squirrels are out to destroy the world meme.

Yellow Fever in Colombia?

Saturday, April 12, 2025

medieval hospitals

lassa fever

 

....... ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;

Friday, April 11, 2025

Another mRNA disease vaccine: The RSV problem

 

Wikipedia on RSV in adults and the use of vaccines:

 Very nasty virus infection in kids.

Some of these kids who got very sick ended up living in our office with one infection after another until they hit three or four years old and then they got over it.

But adults? Likd Dr. C I have not gotten infected from these kids. 

and I seem to remember them having an RSV vaccine years ago: LINK

In 1966, the first vaccine for Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), a formalin-inactivated RSV vaccine, was administered to U.S. infants and children participating in four clinical trials. The vaccinated children were subsequently exposed to RSV in the community and those who had no antibodies against RSV infection prior to vaccination experienced more frequent and severe RSV infection, a condition known as enhanced respiratory disease.

As a result of the failed vaccine and harms caused to those who received this experimental vaccine, development of further vaccines to prevent RSV infection stalled for several decades.

the article from 2015 reviews the same history

and explains why this happened:

Decades of research defined enhanced RSV disease (ERD) as the result of immunization with antigens not processed in the cytoplasm, resulting in a nonprotective antibody response and CD4+ T helper priming in the absence of cytotoxic T lymphocytes. This response to vaccination led to a pathogenic Th2 memory response with eosinophil and immune complex deposition in the lungs after RSV infection....

 italics mine.

enhanced T cells, hyper immune response, maybe even made worse because they used formaldahyde to kill the virus?

I will have to read the whole thing, but my problem is that this immune stuff was not known when I studied in medical school

and the problem seems to be similar to the enhanced immunity for the dengue vacccine if given to those who never had dengue: 

Two mysterious observations defied our understanding of ERD susceptibility for decades: ERD never occurred in those infants who were seropositive for RSV at the time of FIRSV administration, and no child ever experienced ERD twice (26).  
The answer to these two enigmas also explains why FIRSV elicited antibodies that failed to protect against RSV infection (26).
The mechanism responsible for the absence of a protective antibody response against RSV remained unclear for decades, hampering the development of new vaccines against the virus.,,,,

 

In summary, vaccines eliciting nonneutralizing antibody against RSV in seronegative individuals may prime for ERD and should not be administered to infants (at least until effective nonneutralizing mechanisms of antibody-mediated protection are demonstrated).

 which is what we saw with the Dengue vaccine: Enhanced disease if you gave the shot to kids who never had Dengue.

Death by makeup

 I   am reading about the Tale of Gengi and the women's diaries from this time in medieval Japan.


Yup. Sei Shonagon did play around a bit, but not the author of Tale of Genji.

One of Murasaki's diaries mentions a man knocking at her room asking for a poem, and she declined to see him because she hadn't put on her makeup yet, but did have her lady in waiting hand him the poem he asked for. 



Well, I was aware of blackened teeth but did women back then use white lead makeup such as we see in Geisha photos? 

and did lead poisoning make people sick?

That, plus infectious diseases like small pox, poor diet that could lead to beriberi from white rice, and of course tuberculosis, might explain why so many characters tended to die a lingering death at a young age.

Grok answers:

Yes, makeup during the Heian period (794–1185) in Japan often contained lead.
The most prominent example is oshiroi, the white face powder used by aristocratic women to achieve a pale complexion, which was a symbol of beauty and status. This powder was typically made from ground rice or other starches, but in many cases, it was mixed with white lead (basic lead carbonate) to enhance its opacity and smoothness.
Lead-based cosmetics were common across many cultures at the time, including Japan, due to their desirable texture and color.
While the Heian period's records don’t extensively detail the exact composition of all cosmetics, historical accounts and later studies of traditional Japanese makeup confirm that lead was used in oshiroi. For example, the Genji Monogatari and other Heian literature describe women applying thick white makeup, which aligns with the use of lead-based powders.
The toxicity of lead wasn’t understood then, so its use persisted despite health risks like skin damage or systemic poisoning over time. Other makeup, like beni (red lip and cheek pigment made from safflower) and sumi (black ink for eyebrows and teeth blackening, or ohaguro), didn’t typically contain lead, but the white base was the primary culprit. If you’re digging deeper into this, I can look for specific sources or analyze related content for you.


so what led me to ask this? Well this video popped up on my youtube feed.


Queen Elizabeth probably had smallpox scars and heavy make up would cover it up. 

But what about modern makeup/cosmetic customs?

well, one well known problem is arsenic in skin whiteners:


So what does Grok say about this?

Modern makeup can sometimes contain trace amounts of lead or other toxic metals, but it’s heavily regulated in many countries to minimize health risks.

uh, Grok: not only is there a risk of arsenic in skin whitener, this.BBC article is about mercury in skin whitener in Africa 

 

Here’s the breakdown: Lead: Lead is not intentionally added to cosmetics today, but it can appear as a contaminant in ingredients like pigments, talc, or mica due to natural deposits in the earth. For example, lipsticks and eyeshadows, which use mineral-based colorants, may have trace lead. The U.S. FDA sets a limit of 10 parts per million (ppm) for lead in cosmetics applied to the skin and 20 ppm for lip products, deeming these levels safe based on exposure studies. Tests by the FDA and groups like Campaign for Safe Cosmetics have found some products with lead below these thresholds (e.g., 0.1–3 ppm in lipsticks), but none exceeding dangerous levels in regulated markets. Developing countries with lax rules might have riskier products.
Other Toxic Metals: Metals like arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and chromium can also show up as impurities. These are typically found in trace amounts in mineral-based ingredients (e.g., iron oxides in foundations or eyeshadows). The EU’s Cosmetics Regulation and similar laws in Canada and the U.S. cap these at very low levels (e.g., arsenic < 3 ppm, mercury < 1 ppm). Mercury was historically used in skin-lightening creams but is now banned in most regulated markets, though illegal products still circulate, especially in parts of Asia and Africa. Health Risks: At regulated levels, these trace metals are considered safe for most people, as exposure is minimal compared to, say, food or water. However, cumulative exposure (especially for heavy makeup users) or use of unregulated products can raise concerns, like skin irritation or, in rare cases, systemic effects. Safer Options: Brands labeled “clean” or “non-toxic” often avoid mineral pigments altogether or use highly purified ingredients to reduce metal content. Certifications like ECOCERT or USDA Organic can guide choices, though they don’t guarantee zero metals. If you’re worried, check product origins—U.S., EU, Japan, and Canadian brands face stricter scrutiny than some imported goods.
when one reads about skin whiteners, one thinks: For the face.


lots of explanations why, but I suspect Acanthosis nigricans? That is associated with the gene for metabolic syndrome, and when we saw it in our Objibwe patients, we kept an eye on their blood sugar.

well, anyway, I usually use Old Spice: because it was easier to just buy a man's brand when I lived in a household of men, since the boys would always end up just using the one in the bathroom.

---------------

update: So anyway, since Grok's answer above was about the well regulated market in the US, I asked specifically about third world cosmetics:


Heavy metals in makeup, particularly in products from less-regulated markets often associated with developing countries, pose significant health and environmental risks.
These metals—such as lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, and chromium—can contaminate cosmetics through impure raw materials, poor manufacturing practices, or intentional addition for effects like skin lightening.
The problem is amplified in regions with lax regulations, limited testing, and economic pressures that prioritize cheap production over safety. Health-wise, these metals are toxic even in small amounts.
Lead, found in lipsticks and powders, is a neurotoxin that can impair cognitive development, especially in children exposed through maternal use or direct contact.
Mercury, common in skin-lightening creams, damages kidneys and the nervous system and is absorbed through the skin.
Cadmium and arsenic, sometimes present as colorants or impurities, are linked to cancer and skin irritation.
Chromium can cause allergic reactions or, in its hexavalent form, act as a carcinogen.
Chronic exposure from daily makeup use can lead to bioaccumulation, where metals build up in the body, causing long-term harm like reproductive issues or immune system damage.
Economically and socially, the issue thrives in developing nations due to high demand for affordable beauty products, particularly skin-whitening creams driven by cultural preferences for lighter skin. These products, often produced locally or imported cheaply, bypass stringent checks. For example, studies have shown mercury levels in some fairness creams in South Asia and Africa exceeding safe limits by thousands of times, yet they remain widely sold due to weak enforcement.
Consumers, often unaware of the risks, are exposed to aggressive marketing that downplays dangers.
Environmentally, heavy metals from cosmetics contribute to pollution. Improper disposal of products releases these persistent toxins into soil and water, affecting ecosystems and food chains. Manufacturing processes in under-regulated regions also emit metal-laden waste, compounding the problem. The root causes include inadequate regulatory frameworks, corruption, or lack of resources to enforce standards. Global trade loopholes allow contaminated products to cross borders, especially into markets with less oversight. Unlike developed nations with agencies like the FDA or EU’s strict cosmetic laws, many developing countries lack equivalent systems or prioritize economic growth over safety. Solutions are tricky but not impossible. Strengthening local regulations and aligning them with international standards (like WHO or EU limits) is a start, but enforcement is key—random testing and hefty penalties could deter violations. Public awareness campaigns, tailored to cultural contexts, can shift consumer behavior away from risky products. Supporting ethical brands that test for metals and use clean ingredients could drive market change, though affordability remains a barrier. Tech like blockchain for supply chain transparency or portable testing devices could help regulators and consumers verify product safety. On the flip side, overregulation might stifle small businesses in these economies, and blanket bans on certain products could fuel black markets, where even worse quality control prevails. Cultural attitudes toward beauty standards also resist quick fixes—skin lightening, for instance, is deeply entrenched in some societies, and change requires addressing systemic biases. The problem isn’t just “third world”—global supply chains mean these issues can spill into any market. It’s a messy intersection of health, economics, and culture, and tackling it demands both local grit and global cooperation.

Tuesday, April 8, 2025

deesigner babies

Gateway Pundit summarizes the Joe Rogan discussion about China's using gene modification to make enhanced humans.

Lamm pointed to BGI (Beijing Genomics Institute) as a key player in this effort. He claimed that during the COVID-19 pandemic, BGI offered free testing to countries around the world—not just out of goodwill, but to harvest DNA at scale. “They’re like, ‘We’ll do all the COVID testing for you free,’” he said. “Just send us your data.”

BGI has drawn global scrutiny. A 2021 Reuters investigation revealed that the company’s prenatal tests, taken by millions of women globally, were being used to collect genetic data for the Chinese military without proper consent or oversight.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

not just humans but extinct wolves.

Tuesday, April 1, 2025

digging wells in Africa

 

we did a similar project when I worked in Africa in the 1970s: THe pumps were bought by a grant but the construction and digging was done by locals.

ancient epidemics

 

....

....

 

....

...but is tularemia that infectious since it spread via ticks or contaminated meat? 

discussion here:

more here.



Modern epidemics of tularemia:

Actually I suspect it might have been bubonic plague, since it returned to the Hittites with Egyptian POWs...

diseases change: they often get less virulent with time, so the esymptomes might be diffrent.

And sometimes one wonders if anyone has common sense: The famous story in the Bible about the Philistines retuning the Arc of the Covenant because of an epidemic of hemorrhods, and which included golden mice with the arc, is obviously a mistranslation: Bubos in the groin (necrotic abcesses) are not the same as hemorrhoids, but I can't think of any fatal epidemic that causes heorrhoids, so I suspect this is a mistranslation.

the US Military has several books on biological warfare including which disease could be used. The Black death was used by the Mongols and attributed to the spreaed in Europe. The Japanese experiments in China during world war II including cholera and tularemia killed an estimated 400 thousand civilians.

the only biological attack on the USA was when the Germans introduced foot and mouth disease into the USA during World War I, or the cult that infected salads with salmonella to make people too sick to vote against them in an election...

the animal diseases are also a threat: a lot of the beriberi during the Philippine was against Spain and then the USA was because there was an epidemic of foot and mouth disease that killed the animals that were used to plant rice, and the imported white rice lacked the vitamin of brown rice, so people died of beriberi.



Sunday, March 23, 2025

Healthy lunches: Michelle Obama's lunch program and now RFKJr.

a lot of junk advertisements in this video, but if you forward to 28 minutes they discuss healthy foods in the schools initiative sponsored by Michelle Obama, that failed due to politics, but also because those who chose the foods didn't understand you have to make the food palatable for the ones eating it (i.e. theoretical knowledge on healthy food, but not cultural knowledge of how to make it taste good, or to introduce food that will be accepted by children raised in a different culture than upper middle class elite women).

Sigh

one does hope that RFK Jr will ask Michelle Obama to help out in this project.

but if they do, they need to include people knowledgeable of the culture: When I worked in the IHS we didn't introduce foods from the fancy elite dietary types, but we taught how to make their favorite foods in a healthy way: Whole wheat for fry bread, less sugar and less salt in the diet, use vegetable oil instead of lard, include more vegetable dishes, include fruit as snacks, etc.


Sleeping sickness in Zimbabwe

 CDC report.

T.b. rhodesiense is endemic in 13 countries.† Since 2011, reported rhodesiense HAT cases have been steadily declining, with only 24 cases reported in 2023...
Between this patient’s presentation in August 2024 and January 2025 three additional cases of rhodesiense HAT were reported to WHO in persons from nonendemic countries who were bitten by a tsetse fly while traveling in the Zambezi Valley.
The Zambezi Valley spans northern Zimbabwe and southern Zambia, where epidemiologic conditions are similar, and the parasite is endemic. These four cases are the first Zambezi Valley–associated cases reported since 2019, although Zambia has experienced human cases in other areas during this period....

BMC 2021 


In the 1980s and 1990s, great strides were taken towards the elimination of tsetse and animal African trypanosomiasis (AAT) in Zimbabwe. However, advances in recent years have been limited. Previously freed areas have been at risk of reinvasion, and the disease in tsetse-infested areas remains a constraint to food security. article
The patterns of tsetse and AAT distributions in Zimbabwe are shaped by a combination of bioclimatic factors, historical events such as the rinderpest epizootic at the turn of the twentieth century

the rinderpest killed a lot of the wild animals so the flies had nothing to bite; the white settlers kept the wild population down by hunting, and when I lived in Zimbabwe,  there was a fenced off zone to keep animals and flies from migrating south from the Zambesi area, and extensive spraying to control flies was done. PDF.

and extensive and sustained tsetse control that is aimed at progressively eliminating tsetse and trypanosomiasis from the entire country. 
The comprehensive dataset assembled in the atlas will improve the spatial targeting of surveillance and control activities. It will also represent a valuable tool for research, by enabling large-scale geo-spatial analyses....

The tsetse-infested area in Zimbabwe is currently estimated at 30,000 km2, which corresponds to 17% of the 180,000 km2 ecologically suitable area originally infested by tsetse [10]. In particular, tsetse distribution in Zimbabwe has always been restricted to the north, northwest, northeast and southeast of the country with the central highveld being ecologically unsuitable for the fly.

fake cows that smell like cows and attract the flies are one means of control....2001 article BMJ...

the cows were introduced into Zimbabwe in the mid-1980s, when thousands of cattle were infected with nagana, a disease equivalent to sleeping sickness in cattle. Cases of nagana in the country plummeted to almost zero and have remained at this low level for the past five years. A total of 60000 cows are now in use in Zimbabwe...

TED talk about genetically altering cattle to stop the disease

cross posted from my Africa blog

Monday, March 17, 2025

Sunday, March 16, 2025

Even the woke NYT admits covid was probably a lab leak?


 

that alas won't post: you have to watch it on x.

However, this is from 3 years ago:


,,,

this is the latest report from last week, from the UK SUN a tabloid of course.


a reminder:

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

folic acid Autism and fragile x syndrome

see post below about a folic acid type vitamin used to treat young children with autistic symptoms. There was some speculation about this, mainly if folic acid would help the symptoms of our autistic patients with Fragile X syndrome when I worked with the mentally disabled back in the 1980s: 

But alas there was no proof that the vitamin helped the symptoms, although our fragile X/severe autism patients were adults and had mental retardation.

I should note that not all fragile x syndrome patients are autistic or mentally slow so probably they are not diagnosed as such.

...


So I asked grok about the linkage of fragile x syndrome, a  rare cause of autism, and it's relationship to folic acid.

Grok answered:

 It seems like you're asking about the relationship between Fragile X syndrome, autism, and folic acid. Let me break this down and provide some insight based on current understanding.

Fragile X Syndrome and Autism
Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is a genetic condition caused by a mutation in the FMR1 gene on the X chromosome. This mutation leads to a deficiency in the FMRP protein, which is critical for brain development and function. FXS is the most common single-gene cause of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), with about 30-50% of individuals with FXS also meeting the criteria for ASD. Symptoms of FXS can include intellectual disability, developmental delays, anxiety, hyperactivity, and autistic-like behaviors such as social difficulties and repetitive actions.
The link between FXS and autism stems from overlapping neurological impacts, particularly in how the brain processes sensory input and forms connections. However, not all individuals with FXS have autism, and the severity of symptoms varies widely.
Folic Acid Connection
Folic acid, a synthetic form of folate (vitamin B9), is essential for DNA synthesis, repair, and methylation processes, which are critical during fetal development. In the context of Fragile X syndrome, folic acid has been studied for its potential therapeutic effects, though the evidence is mixed.
  • Historical Context: In the 1980s and 1990s, some researchers hypothesized that high doses of folic acid might help alleviate symptoms of FXS by supporting DNA methylation or compensating for metabolic disruptions caused by the FMR1 mutation. Early studies showed modest improvements in behavior or attention in some children with FXS, but these findings were inconsistent and not universally replicated.
  • Current Understanding: More recent research suggests that folic acid does not directly address the core deficits of FXS or its associated autism traits. The FMR1 mutation disrupts protein production rather than folate metabolism, so folic acid supplementation isn’t a cure or a primary treatment. However, folate plays a broader role in neurodevelopment, and deficiencies during pregnancy are linked to increased risks of developmental disorders in general, though not specifically FXS.
Autism and Folic Acid (Broader Context)
For autism unrelated to FXS, studies have explored prenatal folic acid supplementation (typically recommended at 400-800 mcg daily) to reduce ASD risk. Some evidence suggests that adequate folate intake before and during early pregnancy may lower the likelihood of autism in the general population, possibly by supporting neural tube development and gene expression. However, this is not a treatment for existing autism or FXS-related autism.
Summary
  • Fragile X and Autism: Strongly linked, with FXS being a leading genetic cause of ASD.
  • Folic Acid: Not a proven treatment for FXS or its autism symptoms, though it was once explored with limited success. It remains crucial for general prenatal health.
  • Research Status: As of March 12, 2025, no major breakthroughs have established folic acid as a standard therapy for FXS or autism, but studies on nutrition and neurodevelopment continue.
If you’d like, I can search the web or X posts for the latest discussions or studies on this topic—let me know! Alternatively, if you have a more specific question (e.g., about a study, treatment, or personal experience), feel free to clarify.