Great thread on an emerging pathogen👇🏽
In addition to fraud detection/mitigation and waste reduction (e.g., DOGE), it's also weird that election security and transparency is, somehow, a right-coded thing. Why are all these fundamental government integrity measures so strongly opposed by the Left?
Who can blame him? He was 8xing his odds of admission!
Installing a smart meter is said to be "voluntary". But in fact once your current meter's certification expires you will only be offered a 'smart' replacement. In the end, there will be no choice, warns Graham Lord. https://dailysceptic.org/2026/03/23/theres-nothing-voluntary-about-a-smart-meter/
#ResistantHypertension affects approximately 10% of patients treated for #hypertension and is associated with increased #cardiovascular mortality compared with controlled blood pressure.
📄 Learn more in this Review: https://ja.ma/47kA8aG
Jurist Volker @NeBoehme-Neßler und Cicero-Redakteur Clemens Traub, beide aus #RheinlandPfalz, analysieren den Wohlfühlwahlkampf von Alexander Schweitzer, den Niedergang der #SPD und erklären, warum die CDU die Landtagswahl gewinnen konnte. https://www.cicero.de/innenpolitik/volker-boehme-nessler-clemens-traub-podcast-wahl-rheinland-pfalz
Seit über einem Jahrzehnt kommen Menschen nach Deutschland, behaupten, sie hätten ihren Pass „verloren“, und dürfen ohne verifizierte Identität bleiben – teilweise sogar, nachdem sie Straftaten begangen haben.
Aber beim Fall Collien Fernandes/Christian Ulmen fordern plötzlich diejenigen, denen es sonst immer egal war, Klarnamen- und Identitätspflicht im Netz.
Genau mein Humor.
Quote..
Care homes were transformed into prisons with no access to medical care. Instead of receiving antibiotics and other life-saving treatments, tens of thousands of residents were put on end-of-life pathways, starved, dehydrated, and drugged to death; others died from broken hearts and the conviction their families had abandoned them. A similar fate awaited those who were hospitalized.🩺🆘💊⏱️
Rest in peace dear avocado farmer. God is watching.
Jetzt noch Jupp Heynckes als Interimslöung zurückholen, dann wars das endgültig mit der FDP...
Neue Strategien: Europas Resilienz gegenüber Energiekrisen https://www.nzz.ch/meinung/europa-muss-nicht-nur-militaerisch-sondern-auch-energiepolitisch-aufruesten-ld.1929168?utm_campaign=mrf-twitter-NZZ&mrfcid=2026032369bec081793f935293a83495
R to @f2harrell: 💬 Perspective: Hierarchical modeling and meta-analysis are supported by FDA guidance for applying bayesian inference using relevant external information.
@StatModeling
https://ja.ma/4lL5M77
Today, 23 March, marks the harrowing anniversary of what was to become the darkest chapter in our modern history: Covid Lockdown. The catastrophic policy decisions that ensued in the following weeks and months, led to the generational slaughter of care home residents, traumatised families for life, and provided the catalyst for the collapse of the NHS and the mental health tsunami we are still witnessing today.
Never again must we allow the state to inflict such inhumanity and barbarity in the name of ‘keeping us safe’.
Care homes were transformed into prisons with no access to medical care. Instead of receiving antibiotics and other life-saving treatments, tens of thousands of residents were put on end-of-life pathways, starved, dehydrated, and drugged to death; others died from broken hearts and the conviction their families had abandoned them. A similar fate awaited those who were hospitalized.
The truth about the impact of these fateful policy responses will never be exposed by an official inquiry. The truth would be far too damning. Here's a reminder of the horrors inflicted on care home residents.
#NeverAgain
R to @JAMA_current: 💬 Perspective: Bayesian methodology supports efficient, flexible clinical trial designs; FDA guidance encourages prespecification and sensitivity analysis of priors.
@f2harrell @d_spiegel
https://ja.ma/47hHTyb
R to @anish_koka: The good news: alpha-gal sensitivity can fade over time IF you avoid further tick bites.
The bad news: one more bite resets the clock.
A detailed exposure history — including where your patient has lived and what's been biting them — is still the most powerful diagnostic tool we have.
R to @anish_koka: A special note for cardiologists and surgeons:
In the landmark UVA series, 24% of alpha-gal positive patients had severe allergic reactions to heparin during cardiopulmonary bypass. Higher IgE titers predicted who reacted.
Hawkins et al., Annals of Thoracic Surgery 2021 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33031779/
Intraoperative anaphylaxis during aortic valve replacement has been reported with undiagnosed AGS - https://www.jacc.org/doi/10.1016/j.jaccas.2025.106033
Unexplained perioperative anaphylaxis? An important addition to the differential: undiagnosed alpha-gal.
R to @anish_koka: Why should this be on every clinician's radar?
The CDC has flagged alpha-gal syndrome as an emerging public health concern.
Cases are rising fast — tracking with the expanding range of the Lone Star tick, now well beyond the Southeast into the mid-Atlantic and Midwest.
The July 2023 MMWR mapped ~90,000 suspected cases from 2017–2022 and flagged it as an emerging public health problem: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7230a2.htm
42% of 1,500 healthcare providers surveyed had never heard of the syndrome, and another 35% weren't confident in their ability to diagnose or manage it CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7230a1.htm
R to @anish_koka: You send a serum alpha-gal IgE level.
It comes back markedly elevated.
The combination of the clinical story + elevated IgE level cliniches the diagnosis.
You tell him: no more beef, pork, lamb, or venison. Poultry and fish are fine.
You prescribe an EpiPen and refer to an allergist.
His nocturnal episodes stop completely.
R to @anish_koka: What selective pressure drove the loss of alpha-1,3-galactosyltransferase in the Old World primate lineage?
The leading hypothesis is pathogen-driven selection. Several major pathogens exploit alpha-gal on host cell surfaces as a binding target — certain strains of Plasmodium (malaria), trypanosomes, and various enveloped viruses can use alpha-gal as an entry point or display it on their envelope after budding from host cells.
The idea is that losing alpha-gal gave our ancestors two advantages: it removed a pathogen docking site from our cells, and it allowed the immune system to produce natural anti-alpha-gal antibodies (which we all have in large quantities) that could target pathogens displaying alpha-gal on their surfaces. It's essentially a form of innate immunity — you preemptively make antibodies against a sugar you don't express yourself.
This would have been strongly selected for in Africa and Asia where malaria and other alpha-gal-exploiting pathogens were endemic.
New World monkeys, evolving in South America with a different pathogen landscape, never faced that same selective pressure, so they kept the gene.
Compelling hypothesis, but not definitively proven.
R to @anish_koka: Back to alpha-gal syndrome
What makes alpha-gal unique among food allergies:
→ It's a CARBOHYDRATE allergy, not a protein allergy → The reaction is DELAYED — typically 3-6 hours after eating → This delay is why it's so often missed
A steak at 8 PM = anaphylaxis at 2 AM.
R to @anish_koka: You may have caught the Old-World monkey part.
What's that mean - you ask ? (Skip this and the next reply if you aren't interested.)
Old World monkeys are from Africa and Asia — think macaques, baboons, mandrills.
New World monkeys are from Central and South America — howler monkeys, spider monkeys, marmosets.
The evolutionary split between Old World and New World primates happened roughly 35-40 million years ago when South America was still separated from North America and drifting away from Africa.
For the alpha-gal story, the relevant point is that the loss of the alpha-1,3-galactosyltransferase gene happened in the common ancestor of apes/humans and Old World monkeys — so both groups lack alpha-gal on their tissues. New World monkeys actually do still produce alpha-gal.
Technically a marmoset burger could also give you the same syndrome - luckily, no one eats marmoset or gorilla burgers so this is mostly a really fun academic interlude to torture medical students with.
R to @anish_koka: Alpha-gal syndrome is correct. It is an IgE-mediated allergy to galactose-α-1,3-galactose — a sugar molecule found in virtually all non-primate mammalian meat.
It's caused by bites from the Lone Star tick (Amblyomma americanum).
When the tick bites, it transfers alpha-gal into the person's bloodstream, and the immune system produces IgE antibodies against it.
Then, when that person later eats red meat (beef, pork, lamb, venison), they can have an allergic reaction, typically 3-6 hours after ingestion of the meal.
R to @anish_koka: The allergen isn't the meat itself as a whole. It's a specific sugar molecule — galactose-α-1,3-galactose — that is present on the surface of cells and proteins in virtually all non-primate mammals. It's a glycan modification, basically a carbohydrate tag that gets attached to mammalian proteins and lipids.
Humans, apes, and Old World monkeys don't make alpha-gal because we lost the functional alpha-1,3-galactosyltransferase gene somewhere in primate evolution. So our immune system is capable of recognizing it as foreign.
When the Lone Star tick bites you, it introduces alpha-gal (from its prior blood meals on deer, dogs, etc.) into your skin along with tick saliva, which is a potent immune adjuvant. Your immune system mounts an IgE response against the carbohydrate epitope specifically.
Then when you eat a steak, you're ingesting proteins and lipids decorated with that same alpha-gal sugar. The IgE recognizes the carbohydrate portion, not the protein backbone. That's what makes it mechanistically distinct from classic food allergies, which are almost always directed against protein epitopes.
The delayed reaction (3-6 hours) is also thought to relate to this — the alpha-gal is largely on lipid-associated glycoproteins and glycolipids, so it takes time for fat digestion and absorption to process and present the allergen to mast cells in the circulation.
Red meat is the vehicle, but the carbohydrate is the actual target of the immune response. That's also why some patients react to dairy, gelatin, and even mammalian-derived medications — anywhere that alpha-gal sugar shows up.
R to @anish_koka: Then you ask a question most doctors wouldn't think to ask:
"Any tick bites while you were in Texas?"
"Oh yeah, tons. I was hunting and hiking all the time. Pulled ticks off me every week."
Now you have your diagnosis.
R to @anish_koka: He's otherwise healthy. No prior allergies. No new meds. No new supplements.
You ask about his diet. He mentions he's been grilling a lot of burgers and steaks for dinner — "a Texas habit I brought home."
R to @anish_koka: He describes episodes of severe urticaria, throat tightness, shortness of breath and near-syncope — always between 2–5 AM.
He's been to the ER twice. Workup: negative troponin, normal echo, no arrhythmia on monitor.
Labeled "anxiety" and sent home with a Benadryl prescription.
🧵 A 35-year-old man presents after moving back to Philly from a 6-month stint in rural Texas.
"I keep waking up in the middle of the night feeling like I'm going to die."
Let's talk about a diagnosis (of particular interest to the keto community/cardiologists/CT surgeons) you might be missing. 👇
What does the FDA guidance on Bayesian analysis mean for clinical trials? Leading statisticians weigh in: 🧵
💬 Perspective: FDA recommends transparent quantification of prior influence in bayesian analyses and regular supplementary analyses without informative priors to maintain objectivity.
https://ja.ma/4lMqgwb
Christoph Peters hat einen autobiografischen Roman über seine Alkoholsucht geschrieben. Im Gespräch erzählt er, wie es sich lebt, wenn 3 Promille im Blut ein Dauerzustand sind, und wie er davon loskam. https://www.nzz.ch/feuilleton/buecher/schriftsteller-war-dem-tod-nahe-ich-hatte-fuenfundzwanzig-jahre-mehr-oder-weniger-durchgetrunken-ld.1929820?utm_campaign=mrf-twitter-NZZ&mrfcid=2026032369bec081793f935293a83494
Mit Christian Dürr tritt ein gescheiterter Versager zurück. Das verdient Respekt - und sollte der SPD ein Vorbild sein.
Berlin verkommt. Kai Wegner kann weder mit Geld noch mit der Wahrheit umgehen. Die Hauptstadt bleibt schmutzig und gefährlich. Wegner ist ein Rücktrittsgrund auf zwei kurzen Beinen. Er beherrscht nur das Scheitern.
https://youtu.be/8dpyt9BigEI?is=o5gnQz5y5FXr4mcX
x.com/i/article/203609468511…
New research indicates that fathers build bonds best with their children (and craft secure attachment in them) by "destablizing the child" in a "safe environment. Fathers in the study had a unique ability to make their children laugh and therefore create more perceived safety for the child which led to stronger attachment. Mothers made children feel safe too, usually with repetition and soothing, but the laughing and playing did not make the children as attached as it did when fathers performed it.
Several things jump out from this at me:
First, a father who is relaxed enough to laugh and play indicates a safe environment. Fathers are biologically the providers of safety, so if dad is relaxed, the world must truly be safe. Children may be picking up on this.
Second, being worthy of a father's time and attention is a huge marker for kids. A father's attention may actually mean more in many cases, as we've seen in other studies. The bond with mom is equally as important, but sometimes the bond with mom is taken for granted, where the bond with dad is taken as remarkable due to perceived other demands on his time.
What this means: Dads, you've got to be playing with your kids. As silly and disruptive as possible. They need this from you. It's one of the strongest ways they can bond to you.
More about the research: https://www.psypost.org/laughter-plays-a-unique-role-in-building-a-secure-father-child-relationship-new-research-suggests/
NARF!
https://web.archive.org/web/20250909190835/https://cancercommons.org/latest-insights/the-trouble-with-kras/
Der Grüne beendet die 72-jährige Dominanz der SPD. Ein Porträt. https://www.nzz.ch/international/dominik-krause-ist-35-jahre-alt-und-will-auf-den-bmw-dienstwagen-verzichten-das-ist-muenchens-neuer-oberbuergermeister-ld.1930542?utm_campaign=mrf-twitter-NZZ&mrfcid=2026032369bec081793f935293a83493
R to @apsmunro: If you want to know more about meningococcal disease and this recent outbreak, I have written an explainer in my newsletter which can be found at the link below
https://open.substack.com/pub/alasdairmunro/p/menb-or-not-menb-that-is-the-question?utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=web
A short, but dramatic outbreak of meningococcal disease - glad that it all seems to be winding down
Huge thanks to the incredibly hard working people at @UKHSA who organised the response with vaccination and prophylactic antibiotics 🙏
Der ehemalige Bundesgesundheitsminister Karl Lauterbach hat in der Corona-Enquetekommission erstmals zugegeben, dass es einen Fremdschutz durch die Corona-Impfung schon bei der Omikron-Variante nicht mehr gegeben habe👇
In der Sitzung der Corona-Enquete-Kommission des Deutschen Bundestages vom 19. März 2026 ging es um die „Leistungsfähigkeit des Gesundheitssystems, Impfstrategie und Forschung“. Als Sachverständiger war auch der Ex-Bundesgesundheitsminister Karl #Lauterbach (SPD) geladen.
Lauterbach erklärte, dass es unter der Omikron-Variante, also ab etwa Ende 2021, im Grunde keinen Fremdschutz mehr durch die Corona-Impfung gegeben habe. Wörtlich sagte er:
„Natürlich hat es am Anfang einen Fremdschutz gegeben, der ist auch in den Studien nachgewiesen worden. Beim Wildtyp war zuerst in der Covid-Studie noch ein Fremdschutz, der hat dann später nicht gehalten. Der war bei der Delta-Variante schon etwas abgeschwächt, bei Omikron war er weitestgehend weg. Aber am Anfang hat es auch einen Fremdschutz gegeben, das ist unbestritten.“ (Sitzungsvideo ab 1:42:53)
Damit hat Lauterbach wohl erstmals den fehlenden Fremdschutz seit Auftreten von Omikron eingeräumt. Seine Aussage steht in krassem Widerspruch zu den damaligen Beteuerungen als Gesundheitsminister. Immer wieder war vor allem der Fremdschutz als Argument für die Impfung angeführt worden. Noch im Dezember 2023 hatte Lauterbach dementsprechend die Werbetrommel gerührt:
"Laut Bundesgesundheitsminister Karl Lauterbach senkt eine frische #Corona-Impfung nicht nur das Risiko einer schweren #Covid-19-Erkrankung, sondern auch erheblich die Gefahr einer Ansteckung mit dem Coronavirus." (Quelle: RP-Online)
Für Karl Lauterbach spricht die Studienlage eindeutig für die Corona-#Impfung. Jegliche Kritik an den #modRNA-Impfstoffen wehrte er vor der Kommission mit dem Hinweis auf Fehlinformation ab: „Also diese Zweifel, die man an der Impfung hegt, die aber über die weltweite Studienlage hinweggeht, die also ausnahmsweise gut ist für diese Impfstoffe, diese Zweifel sind auch tödlich, das müssen wir uns also vor Augen führen. Wenn wir eine neue Pandemie bekommen, dann würden diese Zweifel noch einmal die Bereitschaft der Bevölkerung, an Impfprogrammen noch einmal teilzunehmen, deutlich reduzieren. Das ist eine wichtige Nebenwirkung, die hier mitgedacht werden muss.“ (Sitzungsvideo ab 55:37)
Damit stößt Lauterbach in dasselbe Horn wie die #WHO und das RKI, das neuerdings mit seiner IMPRESS-Studie bekräftigt hat, statt mehr Sicherheit bei den Impfstoffen einfordern lieber an der Herstellung von Impfbereitschaft in der Bevölkerung arbeiten zu wollen.
Fazit: Ein Tag der Eingeständnisse – ohne Folgen
Die Sitzung der Enquete-Kommission war, was ihren Erkenntniswert angeht, ein Tag der Eingeständnisse. Weder die einrichtungsbezogene noch die allgemeine #Impfpflicht waren wissenschaftlich begründet und der Entscheidungsträger Karl Lauterbach wusste es.
Dass Kinder nie eine wesentliche Rolle in der Virusverbreitung gespielt haben, schien auch allen Verantwortlichen klar gewesen zu sein. Die Kinder wurden fremdnützig geimpft, hinter Masken versteckt und öffentlich gedemütigt, als Ratten oder Todesengel gebrandmarkt. Was wirft das für ein Licht auf eine Gesellschaft, wenn sie derart abschätzig mit ihren Kindern umgeht – und am Ende niemand die Verantwortung übernehmen muss.
Alles dazu hier: https://individuelle-impfentscheidung.de/aktuelles/detail/lauterbach-schon-bei-omikron-kein-fremdschutz-mehr-durch-impfung.html
Hier geht’s zum Kommentar von @KrischkeBen über den Sieg von Dominik Krause (@GrueneMuenchen) bei der OB-Stichwahl in #München: https://bit.ly/4rQ33L5