How Do You Sort Scientific Papers?

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News topic du jour:

Durability of immune responses to the BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine

"reports of waning vaccine efficacy, coupled with the emergence of variants of concern that are resistant to antibody neutralization, have raised concerns about the potential lack of durability of immunity to vaccination. We recently reported findings from a comprehensive analysis of innate and adaptive immune responses in 56 healthy volunteers who received two doses of the BNT162b2 vaccination. Here, we analyzed antibody responses to the homologous Wu strain as well as several variants of concern, including the emerging Mu (B.1.621) variant, and T cell responses in a subset of these volunteers at six months (day 210 post-primary vaccination) after the second dose. Our data demonstrate a substantial waning of antibody responses and T cell immunity to SARS-CoV-2 and its variants, at 6 months following the second immunization with the BNT162b2 vaccine. Notably, a significant proportion of vaccinees have neutralizing titers below the detection limit, and suggest a 3rd booster immunization might be warranted to enhance the antibody titers and T cell responses."

1. Low Body Temperature [18:16] John says: Hi, Im trying to figure out if a declining body temp is something I should be focused on. I’m 42 now and a couple years ago I started noticing my daytime temperature was not a consistent 98.6. No big deal I thought until more recently I started having a hell of a time waking up in the morning. After doing some reading on thyroid related issues (which run in my family) I started recording my daily temp.

Most days my waking temp is 96.9 - 97.1. During the day it hovers around 97.6. I’ve done a full suite of thyroid tests multiple times and my Free T3/T4, TSH, Reverse T4, and thyroid antibodies are right where they should be so no obvious issues there. I generally follow a paleo diet but switched to strict keto for a few months this spring and now follow a low carb diet, no gluten. For activity I do have a 40 hr work week at a computer but my spare time involves part time farm work and 2x weekly capoeira classes. When I’m not at the work desk I’m fairly mobile. I’m male, 5’5” and fluctuate between 135-140 lbs. Daily calorie intake is usually around 1500 calories unless I’m burning hard with activity on a given day.

Is this just par for the course as we age for some folks? Is my metabolism just slowing down? My energy and muscle mass is still excellent, but I am fascinated with this and wondering if it’s anything I should keep paying attention to.

Thanks!

2. Long-Term Blood Donation [23:23] Sherry Says: I'm a 61 year old female and a long time listener. I've been donating blood every couple months for several years. My mother had hemochromatosis. I was checked but fortunately do not have it. I know that blood donation helps keep iron levels in check and I like that my body refreshes itself by making new blood. I am wondering though if there's a downside to long-term, ongoing blood donation. I don't want to deplete some limited resource in my bone marrow, or something else like that!

Thank you.

3. Wading through Scientific studies [26:32] Paul says: Hi to you both ,question for Rob My question is about the way scientific papers are written and the most effective method you have of screening out junk. I am not a medical professional or scientist. I work in IT and management during which I have developed a skillset around identifying ballshit. Whilst looking through papers in pubmed I find the summaries/ abstracts often very unhelpful or misleading. Then the main body of the paper is often rambling and I frequently find myself skimming details in an attempt to find basic facts about the study which I feel should have been stated clearly at the beginning. Information such as; The purpose of the study; the conclusions (if any); the scientific soundness of those conclusions (eg what kind of test with how many participants, the test cell characteristics and the control cell). Some papers are much better than others. But coming from a business background I am used to information following the following format

Title 1 pager (recommendations) Appendix(method ,results,data and caveats) In my experience in business overly obtuse pros often points to deliberate deception or sloppiness. What is your view on this? How do you best navigate scientific papers in your research ? Are there recommendations you have for me so I can be more effective at working through these papers.? Are there services that grade papers with metrics. For example a simple way of filtering those studies without sizeable test cells and control groups. Or do you have any sources you consider to be consistently bad eg specific universities or business etc that you would avoid ? A final question on this topic is In your view what percentage of scientific studies are actually junk? Kind regards Paul

Ps Love the show i feel with you both on the mic its very warm an nice, like sitting in front of a fire chatting about health.

4. Sea salt vs Electrolyte [45:30] Matt says: Hey Robb and Nicki. I’ve been listening to your podcast for a few years now and have definitely enjoyed the new format. Recently I read Sacred Cow, it was by far my favourite book of 2020. I have the paleo solution and wired to eat on my list of books to read at some point this year.

To my question.

For about a year now in the mornings my wife and I will each put a slice of lemon and 3 big pinches of Celtic sea salt into a big glass of water. Where we really noticed a difference was in the summer heat, when we would sweat. My question is, how is this different then consuming “electrolytes”? Are there any differences that we would notice by taking electrolytes instead of just a good sea salt?

I would love to try LMNT one day, but being from Canada doesn’t make it as simple.

Thank so much for your content.

Matt.

5. What's the deal with EMF Filters and Earthing [48:00] Derek says: Hey guys,

Love the show. Now straight to my questions. I don't think you have covered this yet, at least not in great detail:

1. What are your thoughts on Earthing? Is this legit? It seems kind of ridiculous and tree-huggerish, but at the same time it has a ring of legitimacy. I've seen different methods recommended - from using grounding mats that you sleep or sit on to just walking around outside barefoot or sleeping on the ground.

2. What about EMF Filters? Again they have some ring of legitimacy, but at the same time seem kooky. Obviously there are waves galore travelling through the air, but is blocking out these waves (if the filters even work) really going to make that much difference? What about just removing electronics from the room. Does that really make that much of a difference?

I plan on trying out some of these methods, from the standard remove all electronics from the room, to actually shutting off the breaker for our bedroom, but given that there are so many other factors that could affect how I perceive my sleep quality I thought I would see what you guys think. Without solid research or, at a minimum, convincing anecdotes I am definitely not going to be dropping a few hundred dollars on something like this, but I would really like to know if it actually works.

Thanks for all the awesomeness. Keep it up!

https://robbwolf.com/2020/04/08/5g-and-coronavirus-salty-talk-004-thrr/

The Healthy Rebellion Radio is sponsored by our electrolyte company, LMNT. Proper hydration is more than just drinking water. You need electrolytes too! Check out The Healthy Rebellion Radio sponsor LMNT for grab-and-go electrolyte packets to keep you at your peak! They give you all the electrolytes want, none of the stuff you don’t. Click here to get your LMNT electrolytes

You can find the transcript at the blog page for this episode: https://robbwolf.com/2021/10/22/wading-through-scientific-studies-low-body-temperature-emf-filters-and-earthing-thrr092/