MK tells me that I should not write political opinion columns, because I am less likely to lose friends by sticking with personal-humorous writing. I agree and value my friendships. I also know that this particular story would be quite funny if it weren’t so true. Mackenzie, my very lovely granddaughter, is the sister of Brian, whose personal narrative on fishing was featured last week in the Island Park News. They are both college freshmen. Mackenzie’s first Microbiology assignment was to write a paper, with references, on the molecular story behind mRNA being used to vaccinate millions of humans as we speak. I was complimented that she thought that I might have some ideas about COVID-19 and the molecular structure of genetic material at my fingertips to help launch her paper—little did she know. When I was writing papers for college and medical school, the library was used for chasing card references and finding sources that were usually years old by the time they floated around in the Dewey Decimal System. Nowadays, up-to-date and current information and misinformation are widely available on a computer or a smartphone, and a library is a place where you go to meet girls. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02483-w So, I found this link to a recent article in NATURE and sent it off to Mackenzie. For me, it was most enlightening and describes the molecular structure of intracellular genetic material, DNA and mRNA vaccines, and the race among scientists to be the first to use this discovery to treat a disease. Until last year, intracellular mRNA was a solution looking for a problem. Then along came COVID-19, and everyone researching mRNA injections wanted to do clinical trials on humans to see if they would work. I have seen this experimental approach before during my brief exposure to academic medicine. In most medical circles this is called an experiment. A fast track was approved and the drugs were released for widespread use on an emergency-use basis. We are still wondering how well this works, despite the FDA and the CDC canonizing the shot as the holy grail for COVID-19 protection. As a high school student, I read Orwell's classic novel, “1984.” You may have read that book, and recall that the Ministry of Truth's primary focus was on producing government propaganda and altering historical records. Reading the book was an underground experience for a group of us who thought we were cool and knew more than the teachers. My conclusion in 1964, was that “1984” was a little too fanciful and subversive to ever be of any real value. Little did I know. Maybe I should have told Mackenzie to reference “1984” for her college paper. She could even write about the government’s weaponization of the pandemic for the last 18 months. While this sad and controversial political story is intensely interesting, her assignment was to tell an exciting molecular story. As an exceptional student with academic honors, she will choose wisely, as usual. I will have to get my own fat into the fryer—should I ever choose to enter into the fray. https://www.juliusruechel.com/2021/09/the-snake-oil-salesmen-and-covid-zero.html
Julius Ruechel is not afraid to enter the fray. The above link is to his lengthy blog on the problem with COVID-zero snake oil and those selling that theory. From where I sit, at the headwaters of the Snake River, I think he is spot on. Ever vigilant, RT
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