Covid’s genetic link to dementia

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People who are genetically predisposed to develop Alzheimer’s are more likely to be severely affected by the coronavirus, a new study has found. The researchers examined the DNA and medical records of almost 40,000 relatively young Britons (aged 48 to 60) and found that those with two copies of a faulty gene called APOE e4 were twice as likely to have a severe case of Covid-19 than those with a more common variant. One in 36 people of European ancestry are estimated to carry two copies of the gene, which previous research has found to increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease in old age by a factor of up to 14.

Several studies have shown that people with dementia are at a higher risk of severe Covid-19. “This study suggests this may not simply be due to the effects of dementia, advancing age or frailty, or exposure to the virus in care homes,” said Prof David Melzer, who led the team. It could be DNA. A separate study, which has not been peer-reviewed, found that 40% of residents of four care homes in London had the coronavirus, 60% of whom had either no symptoms or atypical symptoms.   (The Week, 6 June 2020)

My reaction: Where can I get checked for the APOEe4 gene?

Following on from yesterday……police budgets.

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Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, state and local governments are facing unprecedented revenue shortfalls, forcing them to make tough decisions about their 2020-21 budgets. Stunningly, however, police departments across the country are not facing any budget cuts, with many actually receiving budget increases. As we observe police departments deploy tanks, riot gear, tear gas, rubber bullets, and thousands of officers at the same time doctors and nurses have no PPE, teachers have no school supplies, and civil service jobs are being cut, it’s critical to ask: is the continued militarization of our police really the best way to spend taxpayer money?(Alice Speri, The Patriotic Millionaires)

The Washington Post today comments on the amazement and confusion felt by policemen at the upswelling of general hostility towards them.  Had they more empathy towards the scores of citizens killed by the brutal behavior of a minority of the colleagues, they would not be surprised.

My comment:  A few years ago my wife and I returned home to find two policemen in our hall, the front door open. It seems we had not turned on the alarm correctly, and a supposed incursion was reported.  In fact, the policemen were polite and respectful, and I thanked them for checking on the house.  But that isn’t the point.  The point is that the sight of these two huge, armed men, looking threatening, filled me with fear for a moment.  The incident was harmless, but the point is that even I felt freaked out.

The  less one has to do with the police the better.  If I, an elderly white man, am fearful or apprehensive of armed police, how does a poor black man feel?  It shouldn’t be this way.  Of course, the unremarked horror is the prevalence of guns.  Control them and get some form of disarmament and you can have more civilized policing. Some hope!

Don’t defund the police; reduce what you spend on them!

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The phrase “defund the police” has quickly gained popularity in the past two weeks, but as this Washington Post piece explains, the term isn’t nearly as radical as it may sound. It isn’t a call to eliminate the police entirely – it is simply meant to draw attention to the outsized funds that police departments receive from state and local governments, often accounting for more than a third, and sometimes more than half, of an entire budget in normal times. In the middle of an unprecedented economic and health crisis, police departments are often the only government entity that aren’t seeing any budget cuts whatsoever.

Major American cities highlight the problem. In Los Angeles, for example, Mayor Eric Garcetti’s new budget for 2020-21 proposes allocating 54% of city funds to the LAPD. New York City’s policing budget is $5 billion, more than the city spends on agencies for health, homeless services, housing, and youth development combined. Chicago spends 39% of its resources on policing, and has proposed increases this year.

You don’t have to agree with all the protests to see the issue here. Consider, instead, this question: are we really getting what we pay for with these massive policing budgets? If states and local governments are going to sacrifice public services for their police, it makes sense to ensure that they’re getting the optimal value for their citizens.

Overwhelmingly, however, evidence suggests that we are not. Thereis little or no evidence  that suggests more policing has a significant impact on crime, and plenty that shows it simply increases violent altercations between people of color and the police. So what actually does reduce crime?  Investing directly in public services like education, healthcare, transit, and community development – these have  proved to be the best way.

And we want more self-policing among the police, and more careful recruitment, weeding out the minority of racists and thugs using psychological testing, before they get their stun guns and uniforms!

Barbarism

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Horrific killing

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Iran’s President Rouhani has ordered his government to speed up new laws to increase the penalties for “honour killings”, following the murder of Romina Ashrafi (pictured), a 14-year-old girl who’d run away with her 29-year-old boyfriend. In a case that has appalled Iranians, Ashrafi’s father is suspected of beheading her with a sickle as she slept. Police had returned her to her family, although she’d warned them she’d face violent retribution. If convicted, her father faces a maximum term of ten years.  (Talesh, Iran) 

My reaction:  Ten years for beheading your daughter with a sickle?!  He deserves to be locked away for the rest of his life.   The best one can say is at least Rouhani is fighting an ancient cultural malady, entwined as it is in religion.  It is true to say that abusive, sick cultural habits that date back centuries became over time entwined with religious practice, and maybe this sort of thing cannot be blamed on the Moslem religion in so far as the Prophet, as far as I know, never advocated execution by sickle for disobedient daughters.  The problem is the culture, something being played out in Syria, Afghanistan, Libya, Yemen – you name it – to this day.

Epicureanism is a relief to contemplate after these countries with cruel, abusive attitudes towards women.

A gene that keeps people skinny

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Scientists have identified what they claim is the first known “skinny gene” – raising the possibility of a new generation of drugs that will make it easier for people to stay thin.

Researchers analysed the genetic make-up of 47,102 Estonian adults and found that those who were metabolically healthy and thin tended to have unusual variants of a gene called ALK. “We all know these people: it’s around 1% of the population,” said Dr Josef Penninger, of the University of British Columbia, who led the study. “They can eat whatever they want. They don’t do squats all the time but they just don’t gain weight.”

In experiments on mice, they found that ALK seems to have an effect on nerve cells in the hypothalamus region of the brain, which plays a role in appetite regulation; this, in turn, affected how fat was stored in the body. The team then found that mice and fruit flies that had been stripped of the gene remained thin (or light in the case of the flies), even when reared on high-calorie diets. ALK inhibitors are already used in cancer treatments, and the researchers now plan to adapt such drugs to see if they can be used to stop people gaining weight. (The Week 6June 2020).

I am posting this to illustrate the importance of science, something shrugged off by far too many people.  Had the experts opinions been supported we would not have had this huge number of covid deaths.  Typical of the ignorance is the refusal to get flu and other preventative jabs. Some of it is pre-historic religious prejudice, some lack of education and understanding.  They put the health and lives of their own children at risk.  Shameful.