Corona Virus

[nullnor]

As I stated on Facebook...I don't know much about Russia and medicine other than their excellent job in doping for Olympic athletes. I anticipate that this vaccine will lead to Russia sweeping all medals in the next 5-6 games or a new group of X-Men.

they pretty much run the world at expertise in biological warfare. if any country can come up with a vaccine for a virus dangerous to mankind they probably could.

[chancellor]

OR, tinfoil hat engaged, they sell it to us as a verified vaccine and Drumph touts it, distributes it and kills thousands here.

Nully, give GITH his password back. It's not nice to steal other people's passwords.

[GwynnInTheHall]

Nully, give GITH his password back. It's not nice to steal other people's passwords.

Well he is all about the rv, which is pretty close to an suv.....

[nullnor]

I haven't really googled it or anything or even read a book on Russia's biological warfare capability. but I do believe if any country could weaponize something really bad it would be them. I mean stuff that no-one else would even attempt. like making Ebola airborne. in contrast, this could be the norm. a lot of secrets leaks or leaked out after they had problems or collapsed. they were just as active as everyone else. the best books on spillovers and viruses were about Russia's labs. and I tend to regard the Russians as pretty ambitious even if they are disorganized. also, the women are beautiful but the men are filthy. yet they still love them.

I watched a Russian sci-fi film recently called The Blackout. it wasn't bad. 'Life on Earth is rapidly destroyed except for a small area in Eastern Europe.'they actually make pretty good movies like that. it's an alien invasion. I give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.

[nullnor]

I am not sure if this is an accurate assumption but like WWII, Russian people didn't fight because they loved Stalin, or maybe it's a myth, but they did it for the country. for nationalism. I can't recall how many people died, I know it was over 30 million. and obviously Stalin sucked. and I cringe at pictures sitting next to Churchill and Roosevelt. but the history in the region I don't think was ever about defending a ruling regime, it was about defending their home.

I would not be surprised to see them step up first and sacrifice their population to this virus for a working vaccine. and when they do it, it won't be for Putin.

[nullnor]

I have a question for you guys that would look it up or have an opinion. what do you think the chances are that when the common cold first came out, or even the flu, they were more severe or had a higher mortality rate then they have now. for a bonus, when did they first emerge.
seriously there are really smart people in the world, but for some reason they can't figure out, for example, why the 1918 flu mutated into a less severe form at the end. and then essentially disappeared. therefore, the same thing should happen this time, right?

but to me it doesn't make sense. is a virus mutates, is it more likely to become more contagious but less severe, or is it more likely to become more severe and less contagious. compare how many different known viruses have behaved this way.
it's my contention that RNA viruses that mutate a lot eventually mutate themselves out of existence, but if they don't they will become less dangerous but more contagious.

this is probably what top virologists are debating right now.

[Ken]

seriously there are really smart people in the world, but for some reason they can't figure out, for example, why the 1918 flu mutated into a less severe form at the end. and then essentially disappeared. therefore, the same thing should happen this time, right?

Nah, that's not correct. It died out because people stopped congregating and the war ended. It's not a secret.

[TranaGreg]

Nah, that's not correct. It died out because people stopped congregating and the war ended. It's not a secret.

actually I've read some stuff that alludes to nully's point as well; the idea was that the most lethal strains killed their hosts so quickly that it couldn't move efficiently across hosts, whereas the lesser lethal strains (as the virus mutated) stayed with their hosts longer, thus they were more contagious & more dominant. (sorry, working from memory, don't have any sources to cite)

[Ken]

actually I've read some stuff that alludes to nully's point as well;

Sure, that's fine, that may be part of it too, I'm referring to the "there are really smart people in the world, but for some reason they can't figure out" part. I don't see that at all.

[nullnor]

Sure, that's fine, that may be part of it too, I'm referring to the "there are really smart people in the world, but for some reason they can't figure out" part. I don't see that at all.

you've already mentioned having given our species too much credit. how we let this happen. ppl that ask the big questions are no different or unsure. for example, all the biggest cosmological questions they don't really know. we are on the right path, dark energy, dark matter, the uncertainty principle, not answers just tools. biology is no different. it's theoretic. the biggest questions remain unanswered. and what is the purpose and nature of a virus is not known. most viruses are beneficial. it's the few rouge ones that give the nomenclature a bad name.

[chancellor]

seriously there are really smart people in the world, but for some reason they can't figure out, for example, why the 1918 flu mutated into a less severe form at the end. and then essentially disappeared. therefore, the same thing should happen this time, right?

The Spanish flu was considered unusual in that the second and third waves were more severe mutations than the first. The second wave had the highest fatality rate, but the third wave was also highly lethal but better contained due to the end of WWI. As I think you noted earlier, by the time the virus reached the third wave, it's typically less lethal but can be more contagious.

[The Feral Slasher]

AeroNabs sound pretty cool

https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/08/418241/aeronabs-promise-powerful-inhalable-protection-against-covid-19

[heyelander]

AeroNabs sound pretty cool

https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/08/41...ainst-covid-19

apparently no one agrees with you.

[heyelander]

AeroNabs sound pretty cool

https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/08/41...ainst-covid-19

Not sure what the sound they make has to do with anything. You're not using them in your ears are you?

[heyelander]

AeroNabs sound pretty cool

https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2020/08/41...ainst-covid-19

I continue to read this as AeroNads… which sound kinda racy to me.