5 ms·

The DIY saliva test that tells if you're catching a cold

5 points by gibsonf1 18y ago

bdfh42 18y ago
Just a gentle reminder - an article in the Daily mail is just about sure to be a complete fabrication and bear no positive relationship to fact.
- gibsonf1 18y ago
  I would be more convinced about potential fabrication with reference to the content of the article itself.
  - bdfh42 18y ago
    I don't think it is necessary to investigate and expose every piece of nonsense we see coming from the Daily Mail. Their track record (particularly in this subject area but generally as well) is such that any sane person would automatically filter out any content from that source. If you need some examples of your own to set your filter then try here http://www.badscience.net/index.php?s=Daily+Mail http://www.badscience.net/index.php?s=Daily+Mail where someone has taken the trouble to expose the nonsense of the DM (and other organs of the press).
- gaius 18y ago
  Feel free to point out any factual errors in that story, with references. The DM for all its faults is no worse than the Grauniad for only presenting one side of any story, and we post links to that all the time here.
etal 18y ago
"The scientists plan to develop a home test," it says. While the article itself is about par for the Daily Mail, this is a great research area that's being commercialized now. A team at Stanford is doing something similar for various cancers: http://esciencenews.com/articles/2008/12/02/stanford.blood.scanner.detects.even.faint.indicators.cancer http://esciencenews.com/articles/2008/12/02/stanford.blood.s... and a lab at my school is doing the same thing for stomach cancer in particular. The prof I talked to said it would become a product in about 2 years. This technique of identifying a disease by its protein/RNA profile is easy to get lost in, but powerful and broadly applicable. A test for the common cold (which bug is that, exactly?), developed on a sample of 38 yacht racers, is a bit dubious, though.
streety 18y ago
Sounds like a fantastic technology to extend the mentality around yo-yo dieting to every aspect of health. I have a low IgA count so really need to look after myself >> I'm fat so I need to diet. I have a high IgA count so I can take it easy for the next few days. I can stay out to 3am tonight and skip the gym tomorrow without worrying about getting a cold >> I've just lost 2 stone so I can reward myself with a donut without worry. Oh look, the twelve packs are on special offer . . . Please note I have not checked to see whether staying out until 3am or going to the gym has the slightest effect on the chances of catching a cold. My point is the mentality and not the value of the specific treatments/actions. Nor do I believe that eating a donut (or 12) will automatically pile on those 2 stone again. I believe I've tracked down the relevant paper: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18580401?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18580401?ordinalpos=1&#38...
- gaius 18y ago
  Going to the gym lowers your immunity, not by much since trained people have stronger immune systems anyway due to hotter metabolisms, but getting a cold is one of the sure signs of overtraining.
  - timcederman 18y ago
    How do you explain that? Going to the gym vs going for a run is likely to expose you to a lot more viruses, that's for sure. (that said, I had some idiot person cough in my face while I was out running once. Nice empty road, and as soon as I got next to them, big hacky cough, right in my face. 2 days later had a very nasty cold)
    - gaius 18y ago
      Training hard puts your body into a state of recovery. It is in this state that you get stronger, faster, etc. Your body has a finite amount of resources and while it is recovering it cannot devote the usual level of resource to the immune system, partly due to the additional workload, and partly due to depletion of micronutrients (which is why athletes take extra zinc, magnesium, etc). I'd cite a reference but I can't be bothered to dig through my pile of Runner's World magazines, you can probably find one on their website.

5 points by gibsonf1 18y ago

Just a gentle reminder - an article in the Daily mail is just about sure to be a complete fabrication and bear no positive relationship to fact.

gibsonf1 18y ago
I would be more convinced about potential fabrication with reference to the content of the article itself.
- bdfh42 18y ago
  I don't think it is necessary to investigate and expose every piece of nonsense we see coming from the Daily Mail. Their track record (particularly in this subject area but generally as well) is such that any sane person would automatically filter out any content from that source. If you need some examples of your own to set your filter then try here http://www.badscience.net/index.php?s=Daily+Mail http://www.badscience.net/index.php?s=Daily+Mail where someone has taken the trouble to expose the nonsense of the DM (and other organs of the press).
gaius 18y ago
Feel free to point out any factual errors in that story, with references. The DM for all its faults is no worse than the Grauniad for only presenting one side of any story, and we post links to that all the time here.

etal 18y ago

"The scientists plan to develop a home test," it says. While the article itself is about par for the Daily Mail, this is a great research area that's being commercialized now. A team at Stanford is doing something similar for various cancers: http://esciencenews.com/articles/2008/12/02/stanford.blood.scanner.detects.even.faint.indicators.cancer http://esciencenews.com/articles/2008/12/02/stanford.blood.s... and a lab at my school is doing the same thing for stomach cancer in particular. The prof I talked to said it would become a product in about 2 years. This technique of identifying a disease by its protein/RNA profile is easy to get lost in, but powerful and broadly applicable. A test for the common cold (which bug is that, exactly?), developed on a sample of 38 yacht racers, is a bit dubious, though.

streety 18y ago

Sounds like a fantastic technology to extend the mentality around yo-yo dieting to every aspect of health. I have a low IgA count so really need to look after myself >> I'm fat so I need to diet. I have a high IgA count so I can take it easy for the next few days. I can stay out to 3am tonight and skip the gym tomorrow without worrying about getting a cold >> I've just lost 2 stone so I can reward myself with a donut without worry. Oh look, the twelve packs are on special offer . . . Please note I have not checked to see whether staying out until 3am or going to the gym has the slightest effect on the chances of catching a cold. My point is the mentality and not the value of the specific treatments/actions. Nor do I believe that eating a donut (or 12) will automatically pile on those 2 stone again. I believe I've tracked down the relevant paper: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18580401?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DefaultReportPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18580401?ordinalpos=1&#38...

gaius 18y ago
Going to the gym lowers your immunity, not by much since trained people have stronger immune systems anyway due to hotter metabolisms, but getting a cold is one of the sure signs of overtraining.
- timcederman 18y ago
  How do you explain that? Going to the gym vs going for a run is likely to expose you to a lot more viruses, that's for sure. (that said, I had some idiot person cough in my face while I was out running once. Nice empty road, and as soon as I got next to them, big hacky cough, right in my face. 2 days later had a very nasty cold)
  - gaius 18y ago
    Training hard puts your body into a state of recovery. It is in this state that you get stronger, faster, etc. Your body has a finite amount of resources and while it is recovering it cannot devote the usual level of resource to the immune system, partly due to the additional workload, and partly due to depletion of micronutrients (which is why athletes take extra zinc, magnesium, etc). I'd cite a reference but I can't be bothered to dig through my pile of Runner's World magazines, you can probably find one on their website.