My Virtual Reading Room

The future of the pandemic is looking clearer as we learn more about infection, from NPR

A very good article on the topic

Why Do Some People Escape Infection That Sickens Others?, from Medscape

It is a great mystery of infectious disease: Why are some people seemingly unaffected by illness that harms others? During the COVID-19 pandemic, we've seen this play out time and time again when whole families get sick except for one or two fortunate family members. And at so-called superspreader events that infect many, a lucky few typically walk away with their health intact. Did the virus never enter their bodies? Or do some people have natural resistance to pathogens they've never been exposed to before encoded in their genes?

Resistance to infectious disease is much more than a scientific curiosity and studying how it works can be a path to curb future outbreaks.

Can Dietary Habits Impact COVID-19 Outcomes?

"...And this was one of two, I thought, particularly compelling studies that just came out a few weeks ago. And as you said, they looked at almost 3,000 frontline health care workers who get exposed to COVID every day. And they found that those that were eating a healthy plant-based diet were 73% less likely to get moderate to severe COVID. Those following a pescatarian diet, a healthy plant-based diet with some fish, were 59% less likely.

And equally amazing, those following a high animal protein, high fat-- Atkins, paleo, Keto-type diets-- were 400% more likely to get moderate to severe COVID. So we already know that a healthy plant-based diet has so many beneficial effects beyond COVID. But I think this is just the latest example of things that we can do ourselves to help enhance our immunity...."

Scientists name newly discovered flatworm after covid-19, from The Washington Post

There’s plenty of creepy, crawly stuff in the soil, and organisms such as worms, snails and slugs are essential to the planet’s health.

But flatworms, a subset of creepy creatures that feed on those soil dwellers and gobble up biodiversity in the process, are a threat to the world’s dirt. Now, scientists have identified two new species of the alien-appearing animals — and named one after covid-19.

It’s called Humbertium covidum, and although the specimens studied were found in France and Italy, it may also be in China, Japan and Russia....

The Physics of the N95 Face Mask
You’ve seen them a million times. You might be wearing one right now. But do you know how they work to block a potentially virus-carrying respiratory blob?

...The fibers in regular cloth or paper face masks filter out particles by physically blocking them—but the fibers in an N95 mask also use a great physics trick. These fibers are electrically charged....

(Fascinating article, btw, I never knew this, and the author explains the physics in a very easy-to-understand way)