3 ms·

In Vitro = in a test tube. Nail polish also inhibits Coronavirus in vitro. Also note that they had to run this on the extracted/isolated viral RTC outside of

In Vitro = in a test tube. Nail polish also inhibits Coronavirus in vitro. Also note that they had to run this on the extracted/isolated viral RTC outside of cells. This doesn’t work with cells, because the zinc never makes it into the cell. If you take extra zinc and aren’t chronically deficient, it’s just going to come out the other end. Zinc doesn’t just diffuse in your body. It is actively shuttled through the cell membrane ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinc_transporter_protein https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinc_transporter_protein) only when needed. Cells are extremely good at controlling levels of ions because any significant difference to normal conditions tends to wrack havoc on their machinery. This effect on the viral replication is actually a good example for this.

DoreenMichele 7y ago
I'm hoping to get meatier discussion related to the ideas batted about here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22845133 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22845133
- IAmEveryone 7y ago
  Well the good news is, zinc is unlikely to kill you, as long as you don’t overdo it. The bad news is it’s unlikely to be the zinc bullet you seem to hope. There’s some effect for the common (non-Coronavirus) cold, likely in people that are deficient. But there’s no more reason to believe this carries over to covid than there is for any other virus, like HIV, herpes, Hep C, etc. I can’t think of a single infectious disease, bacterial, viral, prion, fungal, or parasitic, that is effectively treated by zinc or similar. There are basically two halfway-successful treatments for viruses, in total: HIV and Hep C. Both took decades to find, cost billions, and are somewhat nasty (Hep C more so than HIV). The chances of finding a covid treatment are magnitudes lower than the chances of creating a vaccine.
  - DoreenMichele 7y ago
    Thank you for replying. I'm not looking for a magic bullet. I never know how to effectively communicate my mental models. A lot of my thinking falls roughly under "Going to war to preserve the peace is like fucking to preserve virginity." The body is the landscape this war is being fought upon and modern medicine is all too happy to bomb the hell out of it in hopes of exterminating a few invaders, then acts all confused and befuddled when some bodies don't survive that approach. I'm looking to understand a puzzle piece. Shooting people, no matter how "ooh, shiny" your magic bullet is, tends to do egregious harm. It's not how you restore health.

DoreenMichele 7y ago

I'm hoping to get meatier discussion related to the ideas batted about here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22845133 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22845133

IAmEveryone 7y ago
Well the good news is, zinc is unlikely to kill you, as long as you don’t overdo it. The bad news is it’s unlikely to be the zinc bullet you seem to hope. There’s some effect for the common (non-Coronavirus) cold, likely in people that are deficient. But there’s no more reason to believe this carries over to covid than there is for any other virus, like HIV, herpes, Hep C, etc. I can’t think of a single infectious disease, bacterial, viral, prion, fungal, or parasitic, that is effectively treated by zinc or similar. There are basically two halfway-successful treatments for viruses, in total: HIV and Hep C. Both took decades to find, cost billions, and are somewhat nasty (Hep C more so than HIV). The chances of finding a covid treatment are magnitudes lower than the chances of creating a vaccine.
- DoreenMichele 7y ago
  Thank you for replying. I'm not looking for a magic bullet. I never know how to effectively communicate my mental models. A lot of my thinking falls roughly under "Going to war to preserve the peace is like fucking to preserve virginity." The body is the landscape this war is being fought upon and modern medicine is all too happy to bomb the hell out of it in hopes of exterminating a few invaders, then acts all confused and befuddled when some bodies don't survive that approach. I'm looking to understand a puzzle piece. Shooting people, no matter how "ooh, shiny" your magic bullet is, tends to do egregious harm. It's not how you restore health.