Travel for Life

Healthy ways to strengthen your immune system: [1] Keep your kidney healthy Having kidney disease and kidney failure can weaken your immune system , making it easier for infections to take hold. [10,11] Read  Kidney Disease—All Things Considered Keep your liver healthy The liver is a key, frontline immune tissue . Ideally positioned to detect pathogens entering the body via the gut, the liver appears designed to detect, capture, and clear bacteria, viruses, and macromolecules. [14] Read Risk Factors of Liver Diseases Avoid toxins such as PCB, pesticide, or Arsenic  PCBs are ubiquitous environmental toxicants, for which animal studies demonstrate immunotoxic effects. [12] Arsenic   has been shown to affect not only the immune response, but also behavior in rats. [13] Read  The dangers of pesticides to humans .  But, the gist is that pesticides are immunosuppressive agents. Micronutrients supplementation Micronutrients such as vitamin C, D, zinc, and selenium pl...

You can view the same article with a mobile friendly version  here . Figure 1.  Lofoten, Norway As a local guide said it well: Lofoten is located at the 68th and 69th parallels north of the Arctic Circle in North Norway. It is known for its natural environment within Norway.   Lofoten is a mecca for hiking, climbing, fishing, kayaking, skiing, Arctic surfing (in the summer AND winter), and cycling . The tourism scene there has a very young vibe , with lots of budget.   Lofoten is known for excellent fishing, nature attractions such as the northern lights and the midnight sun, and small villages off the beaten track. Kayak between the islands, go fishing for the catch of your life, or look for sea eagles soaring in the sky. Video 1.  Greetings from Norway Lofoten (YouTube link ) Lofoten Read this good article to know about your trip: 11 things you should know about visiting the Lofoten Islands Here are the 11 things from the article: The weather is going to...

A Balloon Safari in the Masai Mara You can view the same article with a mobile friendly version here . Africa Eco Adventures Ltd offers balloon flights in Kenya’s famous Masai Mara National Reserve . The Mara is the northernmost part of the spectacular Serengeti-Mara ecosystem, home to the “Great Migration” and scores of other wildlife, including lions, cheetahs, elephants, rhinos, hippos, and crocodiles. Maasai Mara National Reserve Masai Mara National Reserve stretches 1,510 sq km (580 sq miles) and raises 1,500-2,170 meters above sea level. Add the conservancies and the area is at least twice the size. It hosts over 95 species of mammals and over 570 recorded species of birds. Best Time To Visit With the wildebeest migration in JULY – OCTOBER, this is the best time to see this incredible movement of animals. Although it is not guaranteed that the wildebeest get to Maasai Mara, it has yet to let us down. Also, December to February are great times as it is dryer and good for the B...

While many successful vaccines act primarily by generating antibodies , there is also a clear need for vaccines that generate populations of highly-specific T cells , especially against infectious agents that successfully escape antibody responses. [1] Latest Developments Based on a latest research, it stated that: [16] These results provide further evidence that a three-dose vaccine regimen benefits the induction of optimal functional T cell immune memory. Table 1.  Vaccines do  generate populations of highly-specific T cells (Source @erictopol ) Innate Immune System vs Adaptive Immune System The  innate immune system  is a conserved defense strategy critical for the initial detection and restriction of pathogens and later activation of the adaptive immune response . Effective activation of innate immunity relies on the recognition of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), such as Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and RIG...

Updated 02/09/2021 Common asthma treatment reduces need for hospitalization in COVID-19 patients, study suggests Without much ado, I'll refer you to read [1] to understand Asthma (see also the infographic provided in this article). Figure 1.   Endothelial dysregulation by SARS-CoV-2.  [5] What's ACE2 Receptor? The  SARS-CoV-2 virus  that causes COVID-19 enters lung cells by engaging with a type of protein on their surface called an  ACE2 receptor .  Normally, this cell-surface receptor functions to regulate blood pressure , but SARS-CoV-2 has co-opted it as a means to gain entry into cells in the lungs and other organs.  Patients in conditions like diabetes or hypertension , this receptor (i.e., ACE2) expression is increased . That's a possible reason why those comorbid diseases are at especially high risk for this infection . [4] Allergy-driven asthma vs non-allergic asthma Allergy-driven asthma "In the setting of an allergic type of infla...

Video 1.   Akiko Iwasaki—Immune Response to SARS-CoV-2 (11/17/2020; YouTube link ) The eleventh lecture in the COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 and the Pandemic Series, presented by the MIT Department of Biology. Akiko Iwasaki of Yale Medical School gave a talk titled "Immunology: antibodies."  For more information on the class, visit “COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 and the Pandemic” (7.00) .  Slides from the Lecture See Also Roles of Antibodies vs. T Cells in Protecting against COVID-19  

COVID-19 typically causes fever and a dry cough. One may have aches in the body—the muscles—and if it's severe enough, there would be shortness of breath. Gastrointestinal symptoms can occur and are an indication of more severe disease. It's not very common to have a runny nose or the  sniffles , and a sore throat is not common either. What's the Difference? In comparison to other respiratory viruses, SARS-CoV-2 infection drives a lower antiviral transcriptional response that is marked by: Low IFN-I and IFN-III levels and  Elevated chemokine expression which could explain the proinflammatory disease state associated with COVID-19. Risk Factors “ Most people coronavirus affects in a mild way, so they can spread the infection, but there is a subset of the population that gets seriously ill. It is both highly contagious and highly lethal.”  — Kári Stefánsson  comments on " The Bad Combination " How the COVID-19 affects each individual could be  different...