Hacker News Reader

thenerdheadon Long Covid impacting more than 1M children: CDC study suggests

Or a virus known to persist in our tissues for years.

Here’s yet another study suggesting persistent symptoms in kids.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle...

More than willing to provide a list of studies demonstrating viral persistence as well.

thenerdheadon Long Covid impacting more than 1M children: CDC study suggests

There’s strong biological evidence that SARS-CoV-2 can persist in tissues, supported by multiple studies.

Before dismissing long COVID, it’s worth understanding what viruses are capable of.

thenerdheadon Long Covid impacting more than 1M children: CDC study suggests

That’s a fair point. Science reporting often skips the discussion section, which adds important context. A strong report would compare this with other studies to show the bigger picture, especially given concerns about undercounting.

This report has led to a lot of minimization and misinterpretation especially from certain bad faith actors. Some claim the number is “stable” year over year, suggesting long COVID isn’t a big deal, overlooking that this study uses a completely new sample each year, not the same children.

thenerdheadon Long Covid impacted more than 1M children: CDC study suggests

absolutely, in fact many of the top ME/CFS researchers have converged their research and are teaming up with the Long COVID researchers to tackle this once and for all.

we now have novel technology being used like PET scanning, T cell biosensors, and single molecule ultrasensitive assays.

Antigen/superantigen persistence is shared and may be treated with extended courses of antivirals, monoclonal antibodies, immune modulators, and even trying checkpoint inhibitors to reverse T cell exhaustion.

the textbook is being rewritten and a key publication on how to treat at least Long COVID based on what I mentioned above will come out next week. NIH will launch their trials very soon likely announcing in March.

thenerdheadon Long Covid impacting more than 1M children: CDC study suggests

It's published here. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapediatrics/fullarticle/...

Another publication this week showed 4% of children developed Long COVID based on EHR data.

https://academic.oup.com/cid/advance-article/doi/10.1093/cid...

thenerdheadon Long Covid impacting more than 1M children: CDC study suggests

These headlines are accurate to the study and their noted limitations, not necessarily the actual prevalence which is already known to be much higher than this.

i.e. https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/153/3/e20230... or https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-funded-stu...

thenerdheadon Long Covid impacting more than 1M children: CDC study suggests

Long COVID in kids is real and widespread. It’s not "rare". Far more than 200k are affected. This latest survey aligns with previous data, but it’s likely an undercount(noted by the authors as a limitation) due to reliance on parental reporting. Kids often struggle to articulate symptoms. Pediatric Long COVID has been ignored despite millions suffering debilitating effects.

Note: I work on NIH efforts to cure Long COVID called RECOVER, RECOVER-TLC, and help non-profits dedicated towards viral persistence/immune dysfunction hypotheses.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9xYNAPrMAE

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2822770

thenerdheadon Taxi drivers offer a clue to Alzheimer's risk

This reporting feels a bit superficial, especially given the exciting direction Alzheimer’s research is taking.

It might sound unconventional, but what if taxi drivers, through constant exposure to small amounts of pathogens from travelers worldwide, experience enough immune imprinting to help prevent diseases like Alzheimer’s?

There’s an intriguing study suggesting that one type of Alzheimer’s might be linked to a chronic gut infection that eventually makes its way to the brain.

https://news.asu.edu/20241219-health-and-medicine-surprising...

We are likely on the verge of a scientific revolution that will redefine viruses as key drivers behind some of the most devastating diseases known to humanity.

thenerdheadon Spike protein at skull-meninges axis may drive Covid-19 neurological effects

More antibodies against spike protein, T cells have an idea of what to respond to, and less IL-6 cytokines meaning less inflammation.

thenerdheadon Spike protein at skull-meninges axis may drive Covid-19 neurological effects

so sorry to hear you're going through long covid. i've had it for almost four years.

there is a lot of hope and upcoming RCTs:

https://fnih.org/our-programs/accelerating-covid-19-therapeu...

here are proposed mechanisms by some of the leading researchers in this field:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S009286742...

thenerdheadon The Long Road to End Tuberculosis

Previous COVID infection enhances immunity, creating what we call hybrid immunity. This happens because current vaccines mainly target the spike protein, while natural infection exposes the immune system to other parts of the virus.

New vaccines in development aim to include multiple proteins and improved delivery methods, which could lead to longer-lasting immunity. For now, hybrid immunity (infection plus vaccination) offers broader protection, while vaccines safely boost antibody levels without the risks of infection.

thenerdheadon The Long Road to End Tuberculosis

This isn’t even considering the latest being found about Covid either for long term illness/disability, virus on tumors making certain cancers grow faster, and sudden stroke/cardiac events.

We are heavily undercounting until we can definitively link it. That requires families to consent to an autopsy and for biomarkers to be finalized and used to confirm.

Researchers are pretty close to that nowadays though with micro clots, viral rna persistence assays, and even pathology studies which are all showing results this year and will be for years to come.

thenerdheadon DMCA takedown notices and counter-notices received at GitHub

This is actually a good thing because dmca in other areas like package registries are usually behind email and you never have an idea of repeat infringers.

This community oriented approach really provides enough transparency so the community can hold companies and infringers to a higher standard.

I work on one of the biggest registries and this is a huge problem for us and we are thinking of adopting this approach. Any reasons we shouldn’t?

I think people need to separate the dmca process and the ledger of dmca requests to separate criticism points.

thenerdheadon Eating less can lead to a longer life: study in mice shows why

It's more nuanced than that.

genetic predisposition (immune/HLA genes working or not), infections (potential for antigen persistence), diet, environmental factors, stress, etc all also contribute heavily.

thenerdheadon Eating less can lead to a longer life: study in mice shows why

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41392-024-01911-3

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41531-024-00716-z

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00470-5

https://www.science.org/content/article/long-covid-trials-ai...

https://videocast.nih.gov/watch=54970

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00871-6

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-01274-3

https://www.fda.gov/drugs/news-events-human-drugs/fda-approv...

Immunotherapy is entering the golden age and we're about to find out what and what doesn't work.

thenerdheadon Eating less can lead to a longer life: study in mice shows why

Over the last four years we have made tremendous progress in identifying pathogenic antigens as the main culprit in these diseases. Some may be caused by undetected low grade chronic infections and some may be lingering antigens causing constant immune system activation / dysfunction.

thenerdheadon Heart rate variability differs between smartwatch and clinical testing

Seems odd to compare a machine like a 12 lead EKG to a smartwatch with a single lead EKG support.

Of course variability will differ, that’s why they invest to much into improving the technology and ml algorithms to make up for the difference to personalize the data.

The watch could encourage you to go to a doctor and the doctor can use a more accurate instrument to diagnose.

thenerdheadon Eating less can lead to a longer life: study in mice shows why

We are slowly learning that our immune system is the key to longevity.

Many articles these last few years on ways to renew it, ways to treat dysfunction, and the common bad guys we really need to remove from our bodies as they are directly linked to currently incurable diseases like T1D, MS, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, ME/CFS, Long COVID, and more.

It seems very realistic we may cure/reverse disease course for a handful of these within the next decade at this rate. Many novel clinical trials are happening to probe at the causes and if proven, we could have new drugs quickly due to the pandemic forcing supply chains to be able to meet antigen targets.

thenerdheadon Things I've learned serving on the board of the Python Software Foundation

Foundations seem critical for the health and longevity of ecosystems. It is interesting to compare the various foundations in other ecosystems, their tax/entity status, and who comprises the board.

Many boards are structured to purely benefit the company “sponsoring” and this is wrong. I’ve always looked at PSF as a means of doing it right in all regards.

I wonder how much other ecosystems can grow if they gave up the control and allowed their communities to drive progress. One of the greatest parts of python and rust is the ability to still innovate the needs of the community and not just corporate interests

thenerdheadon Ask HN: Is a Masters in CS/Engineering worth it for a mid-career PM?

It is the UT Austin program. It is a bit more theory heavy akin to early Andrew Ng courses at Stanford.

thenerdheadon Ask HN: Is a Masters in CS/Engineering worth it for a mid-career PM?

I'm in a AI/ML masters and it is pretty cheap.

While it takes time to do, it has really held me accountable to actually go learn the things I really ought to be learning rather than being stagnant.

I'm a staff PM at a big tech company and I came to realize that nobody knew this stuff, not even the people we are hiring to implement it. Therefore I decided to go out and learn it as my skillset needed a refresh (I come from the mobile dev boom)

thenerdheadon Antibiotics damage the colonic mucus barrier in a microbiota-independent manner

Antibiotic misuse is a huge problem and even leading to resistance.

It is a good thing that we are developing verbose pathogen panels to ensure we don’t prescribe antibiotics when we have viral infections and vice versa.

Additionally the upcoming AI discovered targeted antibiotics will be game changer to remove negative or benign pathogens while maintaining your good cultures.

The challenge is that some become friends and some become foes depending on the diversity and quantity of certain species.

Gut microbiome discoveries are going to change the way we see disease in this next decade.

thenerdheadon Parkinson's may begin in the gut, study says, adding to growing evidence

Majority of the immune system is in the gut. It is also one of the main culprits that Long COVID researchers are finding RNA in causing immune dysfunction.

> High uptake in the gut was observed in people with persistent post-COVID-19 symptoms, as was single and double-stranded SARS-CoV-2 RNA in gut lamina propria, as measured directly by ISH in a subset of participants

With modern day technology, we are now able to scan the whole body before and after a treatment. This can be applied to many diseases like Parkinson's, but largely being used in Long COVID trials today:

> The ability to quantify pathogen and immune responses across the whole body before and after a therapeutic intervention could provide unparalleled information on infections that primarily persist in specific tissues outside the systemic circulation

Finally, we really are entering a renaissance of being able to see our immune system in action for the first time. This will hopefully bring a cure to many diseases that are now thought to be driven by immune dysfunction / viral persistence / autoimmunity / etc.

> Nonetheless, we are just entering a renaissance of specific noninvasive nuclear imaging developments to determine immune responses to pathogens and malignancies. For these to be realized, significant resources must be provided to develop, implement and improve these emerging noninvasive technologies and facilitate their implementation into clinical trial infrastructure.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41590-024-01948-0 (may be paywalled, but is a great article)

Beyond the nuclear imaging technologies, new tools like single-cell RNA sequencing, CRISPR screens, 5′-VDJ repertoire analysis, spatial transcriptomics, dual RNA sequencing and metagenomic sequencing, etc will help in unraveling the complexities of these complex diseases.

Bonus: Here's a video of a friend who did this experimental imaging for Long COVID:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPwXRZFhGOM

Hippocrates said all disease begins in it, so maybe we should've listened.

thenerdheadon NIH study finds long Covid affects adolescents differently than younger children

NIH-supported research on long COVID found distinct symptom patterns in children (ages 6-11) and adolescents (ages 12-17).

Among the 3,860 participants, 20% of school-age children and 14% of adolescents met the criteria for long COVID.

Common symptoms included headaches, memory issues, and fatigue.

This study underscores the need for age-specific research to better understand and treat long COVID in youth.

Future research will focus on children under 5.

thenerdheadon U.S. Added 818,000 Fewer Jobs Than Reported Earlier

Long COVID is a well documented health issue affecting many workers. Here is a recent publication in nature regarding how many hours are being lost in various economies.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-024-03173-6/tables/1

thenerdheadon U.S. Added 818,000 Fewer Jobs Than Reported Earlier

I wonder how Long COVID affects this given the Japanese are dropping out of work.

https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/medical/20240821-OYT1T50067/

The US has a scary picture too with ~11% of adults affected today:

https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/long-covid-update-20...

thenerdheadon Starting Hospice

Are you able to bypass the FDA with the Right to Try act?

https://www.fda.gov/media/133864/download#:~:text=Right%20to....

The FDA is a joke. I mean that in the kindest way possible as someone with long covid waiting for the FDA to allow me access to previous covid therapeutics that show promise in this disease.

thenerdheadon Unconditional Cash Study: first findings available

Is there a link to the published research so it is easier to read through it without all these buttons to click to expand?

thenerdheadon Immunotherapy Is Changing Cancer Treatment Forever

https://www.panaccindex.info/p/profile-ucsfs-vinay-prasad

thenerdheadon Scientists discover a cause of lupus, possible way to reverse it

They fund and do a lot of work beyond the horrible choices for initial RCTs. This fall we should hopefully see actual pharmaceutical interventions and a plethora of research they’ve been publishing.

The more important parts of their programs are the omics and tissue biopsy programs.

May they hopefully turn the ship…