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@ ExtravagantEnzyme @lemm.ee

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30
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74
Joined
2 yr. ago

Disease usually results from inconclusive negotiations for symbiosis, an overstepping of the line by one side or the other, a biological misinterpretation of the borders.

— Lewis Thomas

  • How worried should we be about Disease X?

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  • You're not wrong there, hopefully the pathogen is sequenced soon and researchers start working on an approach to prevent further spread and treat those already infected.

    The fact the numbers are like this in a remote area of Africa demonstrates when it gets to a more dense population, it will only get worse. More viral infections means more mutations. A virus will always mutate, it's how they survive. These mutations almost always result in a novel version of the virus better adept to spread in the host's population. There's also a good portion of these new versions which are no longer infectious as well. It's basically a numbers game for the virus.

    But Disease X by definition will always start in one specific area, then spread throughout the population.

  • How worried should we be about Disease X?

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  • Disease X is actually a concept. In academia, Disease X is covered in infectious disease focused courses, it is a placeholder concept referring to a pandemic pathogen which has not yet been characterized. Its purpose is to encourage proactive thinking and research about pathogens that could cause a pandemic. To see the term thrown around is pretty wild, but hopefully it's a bit of an overzealous or incorrect use of it. Not even sure if there's enough data available yet to classify it as Disease X, but it's Ro value is steadily on the rise, which is always concerning for a novel pathogen.

  • ISPs say their “excellent customer service” is why users don’t switch providers

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  • Ya, and the reason I've never been in a car accident is cause I'm a fantastic driver, not because I've never owned a car...

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    Fedora Linux 41 is here! - Fedora Magazine

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  • Nice! Glad you're digging KDE. After Plasma 6 was released, there were internal discussions at Fedora about KDE becoming the new default DE. I'd have to think a lot of folks went through your experience, I know I did when starting with Fedora.

  • U.S. boosts passenger screening as Africa grapples with deadly Marburg and mpox outbreaks

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  • Marburg virus is no joke!! Fatality rate upwards of 88% due to it causing hemorrhagic fever. While monkey pox is no joke, I'd be exponentially more terrified if I had a Marburg virus infection.

  • Trump makes last effort to keep hidden January 6 case evidence before election

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  • Trump makes last effort to keep hidden January 6 case evidence before election

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  • Boebert, Colorado reporter spar: ‘Oh, you’re going to fact-check me during the interview’

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  • Billionaire Larry Ellison says a vast AI-fueled surveillance system can ensure 'citizens will be on their best behavior' | Business Insider India

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  • I2P could be a solid option over TOR then, no?

  • Arguments why Telegram is not a good idea for anyone

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  • A solid privacy conscious youtuber, The Hated One, just published a video on this exact topic. It's very detail oriented and should be easy for anyone to follow along. Here's the link: https://youtube.com/watch?v=A8ZXDiQLH9I

  • US confirms first case of bird flu with no known animal exposure

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  • Virulence is defined as causing damage to the host. If the virus kills everyone in that small proximity, the virus will no longer be able to reproduce or spread, plain and simple.

    Viruses are super crafty in obtaining their limited number of proteins from the host. However, some viruses bring enzymes with them to get the job done without much help from the host. These are typically larger RNA viruses. Influenza is in this group, but it still steals the 5' cap from the host. This happens without miss as it's able to interact with the host RNA polymerase undetected and then this cap makes it so the influenza RNA appears to be host RNA.

    The 1918 influenza was so deadly as it had just jumped to a new host, humans. The same exact influenza responsible for the 1918 pandemic has relatives still in circulation. It's not in circulation as the less virulent versions were more successful. This explicitly demonstrates the preference to be less virulent.

    If a virus doesn't need many proteins from the host, it's able to reproduce much more quickly than one dependant on more host resources. The more resources it needs, the increased ability of the immune system to prevent it's reproduction. So in many situations, a lower requirement for host resources can make it more successful. Regardless, it can be very dependent on host resources, like many DNA viruses, and still not be very virulent. A great example of this is Hepatitis D. Virology is a fascinating field and it's highly intricate as a virus is more like it's host than any other viruses. There's not a lot of commonality between different viruses and their reproduction cycles. So viruses in the same family are compared, and the 1918 becoming less virulent shows there's a preference for becoming less virulent over time.

  • US confirms first case of bird flu with no known animal exposure

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  • Then why does bird flu have more invasive symptoms and a higher mortality rate compared to human influenza's? I was taught by a virologist who's been around the block many times and got her PhD in the USSR. She was adamant that a parasite never wants to kill it's host, as this results in no longer being able to reproduce in the host and shortens it's reproduction time in future host.

    Most viral offspring are not capable of infection, as without mutations, viruses would not be able to reproduce effectively and could not adapt to changing environments. To disprove a hypothesis simply means one aspect of the statement is incorrect. So while the cause and effect occurs, the explanation for why wasn't dialed. Or at least, this would be my guess for how it could have been disproven.

  • US confirms first case of bird flu with no known animal exposure

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  • We've known since at least March that about 10 human cases of this new bird flu would allow the virus to mutate and adapt to humans. This is the 14th reported case in the states this year, and the first which could have been transmitted from human to human. We understood what was happening, yet have really done nothing to try to prevent it's spread.

    The mutation rate baked into Influenza's reproduction cycle is much more elaborate than coronaviruses, and this isn't exactly a bad thing. When a human catches bird flu from a bird, the mortality rates are pretty burly as this version of the virus attaches to the α2:3 receptor. While this receptor is found throughout the avian digestive and respiratory track, it's only found in the lower lungs of humans. A lower lung infection will always be gnarlier than an upper respiratory infection. Human influenza viruses have a preference for the α2:6 receptor, which is found throughout our airway. This is the primary adaptation which occurs when influenza mutates to infect humans. But a virus is a parasite, so in their ideal world, they wouldn't kill their host. Viruses often do the most damage when adapting to or having recently adapted to a new host. Hopefully, the mutation rate of influenza will result in a shorter pandemic compared to COVID if it ends up taking place.

  • Everybody in SoCal today...

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  • “Shots fired, into the sky, are now returning, where the fuck will you hide?”

    Rise Against — Rumors of My Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated

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  • Oh, I see, I interpreted the statement as Mozilla handing over previously collected user data as payment for getting AccuWeather's widget.

    However, any webpage visited in a bowser provides this info. So if you haven't stopped it happening from the get, you're handing this data over in mass. But thanks for clearing that up for me!

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  • Why would Mozilla pay AccuWeather in user data? This would cut into their revenue and be horrendous press. Doing so makes no sense, legit entirely illogical. AccuWeather paid to get placement on the new tabs page. But, if you're this worried about it and haven't spent time in about:config to prevent fingerprinting, tracking, and location data collection, start there for sure. Either way, this seems like a huge stretch and wouldn't make sense for Mozilla try and pull off.

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  • Are you implying Mozilla paid AccuWeather to have placement on it's browser? It's always the other way around, think about Google paying to be the default search engine on Safari. If anything, I have to think Mozilla was paid to incorporate AccuWeather and not the other way around.

  • 'We tried everything': Another long-running Calif. music festival is canceled

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  • 'We tried everything': Another long-running Calif. music festival is canceled

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  • Marc Rebillet and Thundercat had sets too, plus Hamilton Morris was going to give a lecture. The line up was pretty stacked overall and early bird tickets were $250, which isn't unreasonable for a 3 day festival.

  • World News @lemmy.ml
    єχтяανɒgαηт єηzумэ @lemm.ee

    'You can't kill all of us': Kenya protesters vow to march again as authorities kill 22

    www.thecanary.co /global/world-analysis/2024/06/26/kenya-protests/
  • World News @lemmy.ml
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    Secret Pentagon Anti-Vax Campaign Discredited Chinese COVID Vaccine

    scheerpost.com /2024/06/22/glenn-greenwald-secret-pentagon-anti-vax-campaign-discredited-chinese-covid-vaccine/
  • World News @lemmy.ml
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    Better Dead Than Captured: Israel’s Protocol for Its Soldiers Taken Captive

    progressive.org /latest/better-dead-than-captured-israels-protocol-for-its-soldiers-dilawar-20240619/
  • World News @lemmy.ml
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    G7 Fail to Deliver on Fossil Fuel Promises at Italy Summit

    www.commondreams.org /newswire/g7-fail-to-deliver-on-fossil-fuel-promises-at-italy-summit
  • World News @lemmy.world
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    Less Than 3% of G7 Military Spending Could Help End Global Hunger and Solve Global South Debt Crisis

    www.commondreams.org /newswire/less-than-3-of-g7-military-spending-could-help-end-global-hunger-and-solve-global-south-debt-crisis
  • World News @lemmy.ml
    єχтяανɒgαηт єηzумэ @lemm.ee

    Less Than 3% of G7 Military Spending Could Help End Global Hunger and Solve Global South Debt Crisis

    www.commondreams.org /newswire/less-than-3-of-g7-military-spending-could-help-end-global-hunger-and-solve-global-south-debt-crisis
  • United States | News & Politics @lemmy.ml
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    The Labor Movement is Being Strengthened by the Fight for Palestine

    www.leftvoice.org /the-labor-movement-is-being-strengthened-by-the-fight-for-palestine/
  • United States | News & Politics @lemmy.ml
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    Ohio and Pennsylvania Residents Affected by the East Palestine Train Derailment Say Their ‘Basic Needs’ are Still Not Being Met

    insideclimatenews.org /news/05062024/east-palestine-train-derailment-settlements/
  • World News @lemmy.ml
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    ‘An Uprising in the Making’: ‘Alberta’ Chiefs Say Oil Company’s Forceful Approach is an Attack on Treaty Rights

    therealnews.com /an-uprising-in-the-making-alberta-chiefs-say-oil-companys-forceful-approach-is-an-attack-on-treaty-rights
  • World News @lemmy.ml
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    After Peddling Fake Hamas 'Beheaded Babies' Story, Media Ignores Actual Beheaded Palestinian Baby

    www.thecanary.co /uk/analysis/2024/05/28/beheaded-babies-israel-gaza/