Roughly 70 outbreaks of myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) of unknown causes occurred in the 20th Century. One such instance was in 1955 in the U.K. Royal Free Hospital, where 255 medical workers were mysteriously hospitalized.

This event led Melvin Ramsay, M.A., M.D., to coin the term ME, which the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized as an official medical condition by 1969. In early 2000, ME was viewed as synonymous with CFS, so ME/CFS is now used to describe this condition.

A common trigger of ME/CFS is viral infections, of which Covid-19 comes into mind. While the survival…

Previously, two small randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have advocated vitamin D treatment for Covid-19, which I detailed here and here. But not every trial will show the same encouraging results, which is how things usually are. Even the FDA-approved remdesivir drug that inhibits coronavirus replication did not pass the W.H.O Solidarity trial and other trials.

Anyways, let’s see what another RCT —titled “Effect of a Single High Dose of Vitamin D3 on Hospital Length of Stay in Patients With Moderate to Severe COVID-19” published two days ago in the journal JAMA Network — has to say. …

It’s ‘scientifically meaningless’ and all false positives, some have claimed about the current polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for SARS-CoV-2 infection or its disease, Covid-19. False-positive means that the positive result of a test is false, so it’s picking up a signal when there’s none.

There are at least 5 reasons why some doubt its scientific validity:

1. The inventor of PCR said it could not detect infectious viruses.
2. It has not been compared to a gold-standard, definitive test.
3. It’s a qualitative test, not quantitative.
4. The cycle threshold (Ct) value used is too high, so it’s detecting coronavirus genes when there…

Is red meat good or bad for health? Ask different experts, and you might get different answers. One reason for this is that nutrition research literature is messy, and questionable funding sources are a big culprit.

A 2016 research review identified 26 papers showing that soft drinks are not associated with diabetes or obesity. But all these 26 papers had ties to the food industry. In contrast, 34 papers found that soft drink promotes diabetes or obesity; only one of these papers is industry-funded.

Another study — published last month — analyzed studies in the top 10 nutrition-related journals and…

The coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is actively evolving as it spreads among us. With the recent advent of multiple strains — i.e., variants or mutants with slightly different viral properties — SARS-CoV-2 has become even better apt at surviving amidst humans. This is thanks to the three mutations arriving sequentially:

1. The D614G mutation — change of amino acid at position 614 from D to G —dominated the globe last year. D614G helps the virus infect cells more easily and become more contagious, at least in animals.
2. The more recent N501Y mutation is found in the U.K., South Africa, and Brazil SARS-CoV-2 mutants…

Entering 2021, vaccines for Covid-19 have arrived, as well as vaccine-resistance coronavirus mutants. But the latter has just started, so vaccines are still leading the race against the mutants (for now). With that said, here’s a short account of articles (friend linked) Microbial Instincts or I covered in January 2021 with emphasis on coronavirus mutants and vaccines.

SARS-CoV-2 mutants

1. Why the Coronavirus D614G and N501Y Mutations Are Not Entirely Disastrous: The increased infectivity of certain SARS-CoV-2 mutants — i.e., D614G and N501Y (the U.K. variant) — is indeed a cause for alarm. These mutations promote an ‘open’ state of the virus’s spike…

If you have been keeping up with coronavirus development, you’d probably know that things are getting worse. Last week, it was announced that Covid-19 mRNA vaccines are less effective against the U.K. and South Africa SARS-CoV-2 mutants. Preliminary data from the U.K. also shows that the mutant is 30–40% deadlier and 30–70% more transmissible. This article will look at what these numbers really mean in context.

The mutant in the U.K. is called B.1.1.7, N501Y, or 501Y.V1. The one in South Africa is B.1.351, E484K, or 501Y.V2. The one in Brazil is B1.1.28 or 501.V3. The one in Southern California…

Incidents of serious allergic reactions — called anaphylaxis — have occurred within a few minutes of receiving the mRNA vaccines for Covid-19 in the U.S. and U.K. Anaphylaxis is life-threatening if untreated, and usually occur within minutes of allergen exposure. Symptoms include hives; swelling of the mouth, lips, tongue, or throat; breathlessness, wheezing, or chest tightness; or low blood pressure or consciousness loss.

Fortunately, vaccine anaphylaxis is incredibly rare. Historically, only 33 anaphylaxis cases have been documented out of 25 million vaccine doses. In the U.S., there were 21 anaphylaxis cases from the 1,893,360 million first doses of Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA…