blue tape measuring on clear glass square weighing scale 53404 scaled
DIET, LifeStyle

The top five ways to melt fat

The top five ways to melt fat without going hungry. So, you’ve been trying to melt fat from your body without going hungry no matter how hard you try. There are others that seem to do, and that hardest thing to stomach is that they make it look so easy. But for some obscure reason, melting fat keeps eluding you. Every time you make a little progress in your weight loss goals, something sidetracks, you and you end up back at the beginning. It is time to put an end to that right now. Because this time you will have the same knowledge the other people know. Give the following five ways a try and see how you get on. Reduce StressThere is an ugly hormone called cortisol which causes you to feel hungry, and you end up eating more than you should. As you begin to feel stressed throughout the day, cortisol hormones send signals to the brain which affects your appetite. The answer to relieving stress can be quite difficult because we are not all born equal. Go for a long walk or take up meditation. If that still leaves you feeling stressed out on a day to day basis, then you may consider visiting the doctor. Avoid SugarThis is a no brainer. What is the point of emptying your fat reserves if you are going to continue to fill them up with more fat? Sugar comes in many forms and will cause your body to produce fatty deposits. When you are out shopping, it is worth checking labels for any hint of refined sugars. Because a label says it’s sugar-free, it should raise alarms that it’s not sugar-free and contains refined sugar. Take on Weight Training Everyone is aware that exercise is only 20% of the weight loss journey, but most don’t realize that resistance training/weight training is what melts the fat away.When you are on the keto diet, it’s important to maintain and improve muscle mass, and you can do this through weight training.Weight training increases your metabolism and helps your body burn fat quicker than standard exercise. Have a mixture of cardio and weight training for optimal results. Sleep If you want to live a healthy lifestyle, you need to make sleep part of your routine as it’s one the important characteristic of a healthy lifestyle.A few ways that you can improve your sleep is by not eating or drinking two hours before bed, avoid noise or screen glare during the late evening and practice some breathing exercises before you hit the pillow. Eat Fatty Fish Eating fatty fish is part of the keto diet, and fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, and sardines contain a lot of omega-3 fatty acids.They help break down the harmful fats in your body, and it is recommended you eat fatty fish twice a week. Melting fat from your body doesn’t have to be taxing. Just take the above tips and use them where best you can. Here is one bonus tip I want to leave you with today, and that is to take action.

How to Prevent Acne & Pimples: 10 Tips and tricks
Beauty and Fashion

How to Prevent Acne & Pimples: 10 Tips and tricks

How to Prevent Acne & Pimples: 10 Tips and tricks Preventing Acne-Tips and tricks Celebrities like Millie Bobby Brown and Dakota Fanning have undergone various dermatological procedures to avoid acne problems and imperfections, and perhaps their stylists solve their teenage problems by giving them the appearance of dolls with porcelain skin. Unfortunately, most of us only have the option of fantasizing about having a clean face, or at least we believed until we discovered the secrets of teen stars to look radiant and flawless at all times, thanks to the help of makeup and Constant cleaning Check out these 15 tricks that will help you fight acne. How to Prevent Acne & Pimples- 1. Clean the skin It is important to comply with a skin cleansing routine. You should wash the complexion twice a day, in the morning and at night, with soap for oily skin. 2. Use a mask Once a month, apply a natural clay mask that will help you oxygenate the skin and clean the pores from the inside. 3. Stop extreme makeup One of the most common mistakes is to try to hide the imperfections with an excessive amount of makeup, this in addition to looking fake, will cause more outbreaks because the pores of the skin are clogged. 4. Use your best weapons A good concealer and a makeup base with oily skin formula will be your basic weapons to cover those annoying pimples. Just make sure the tone suits your skin to achieve a natural effect. 5. Types of imperfections To choose the right concealer, you must verify that it counteracts the color of the imperfections. The best in the case of acne is green because, being the complementary color of red, it is ideal for covering pimples and marks. 6. No to powder Never use powder makeup bases as they will increase the risk of more acne. And always wash your brushes constantly to prevent certain bacteria from reaching your skin. 7. Do not fall into temptation Squeezing a mud can be tempting, but you have to avoid it at all costs, as this could make the situation worse. 8. Select the right products Verify that the cosmetics are not made from oil, as this will only increase the fat in your skin. 9. Learn not to be selfish At least with your cosmetics, since if someone else with a different type of acne uses them directly, it could make your situation worse. 10. Kisses without restrictions Lip makeup can be your best bet to distract uncomfortable looks. Strong lips like red, wine or orange, brighten your face immediately, making you feel glamorous. 11. The time has come to throw them away Another important fact to make up without altering your acne is to check the expiration date of your products since if they are expired, or in poor condition, they will not bring anything beneficial to your skin. 12. Don’t forget to moisturize your skin It is important to remember that humidification depends on our pH levels and that maintaining adequate levels despite having oily skin will help you improve your appearance. 13. Never sleep with makeup Never go to bed without removing your face and cleaning it properly; Although it may seem somewhat tiresome, your skin will appreciate it.

cook cooking cuisine delicious 357737 scaled
DIET, LifeStyle

The raw food diet:Types, benefits, and risks

Our bodies thrive on all that’s fresh and vital. Raw food diets promote eating and drinking living food. A diet of a minimum of 75% of raw food offers numerous health benefits, starting with weight loss and detox. Read all the advantages of a raw food diet and check out some simple but yummy recipes! Eating raw foods is natural. Our bodies thrive on all that’s fresh and vital. A raw food diet (or increasing the quantity of raw food that you simply eat) is sure to bring a sense of increased wellbeing. Raw food diets are supported by unprocessed and uncooked plant foods, preferably organic, like a spread of fresh fruits and veggies, nuts, seeds, grains, edible fruit, fresh juices, and purified water. Why Raw Foods? Basically a vegetarian diet, the raw food diet promotes eating and drinking living foods. Living foods and juices contain the greatest amount of fiber found in raw produce, fiber which will be lost in processing. Such foods are easily metabolized and tend to be lower in calories than the standard diet. Heating food above 116∞F destroys enzymes in food that aid in digestion and in the absorption of food, diminishing its nutritional value. Benefits of a Raw Food Diet A diet of a minimum of 75% raw food offers numerous health benefits, like increased energy, improved skin appearance, better digestion, weight loss and reduced risk of serious sicknesses like a heart condition, diabetes, and cancer. A raw food diet contains little or no saturated fats is low in sodium, high in potassium, magnesium, folate, and fiber. Raw food diets also are excellent detox diets. Different combinations of raw, living foods, and juices are often used for colon cleansing, liver cleansing, kidney cleansing, and skin cleansing. The Basics of a Raw Food Diet Any fresh fruits, vegetables, grains, seeds, beans, nuts, legumes, young coconut milk, and even seaweed can be menu items of a raw food diet. Your choice of foods may vary on your intentions for dieting, for example: – sprouted brown rice reduces glucose absorption and develops the metabolism – cabbage supports healthy cellular function; radish leaves act as an anti-oxidant, as does Shitake mushroom -carrots are an exceptional source of vitamin A also as encouraging healthy vision and a healthy cardiovascular system You can use a sprouter such as the Easy Green automatic sprouter to sprout seeds, grains, beans ñ even wheatgrass. Sprouts might be called a superfood and organic sprouts contain enormous levels of proteins, vitamins, minerals, trace minerals, chlorophyll pigments and enzymes, and are the perfect natural supplement. Sprouts are often used in salads and soups or can be juiced. Fresh juices are excellent ready energy supply and an honest quality juicer, like the Kempo Greenpower juicer, produces living juices that are filled with essential nutrients. A great juicing recipe to complement a raw food diet is a juice with potato, fennel, and apple. Simply juice 4 medium carrots, 2 apples, 1 small potato, and 1 small stalk of fennel. Fennel has been shown to moderate and control inflammation of arthritis, it evens mood fluctuation and depressive states and has the rare nutrient called manganese, plus zinc and B-complex vitamin complex. The nutritional value of grains and seeds is impressive. They contain most of the vitamins ñ particularly A, B, and E. They are also fantastic natural sources of unsaturated fatty acids and lecithin, and a superb source of proteins. You can even use soy milk makers (such as SoyQuick) to form non-dairy drinks from different beans, rice, nuts, seeds, and grains to possess with breakfast. If you want something a little extra substantial than soy milk you can make your tofu (or, of course, visit a good health food shop). Essentially, the thought of a raw food diet is to eat unprocessed foods for a minimum of 75% of the time. If the idea of raw food isn’t very appealing to you, you can warm the food a little as long as the food isnít heated above 116∞F. As with any major change in diet, itís wise idea to consult your doctor before beginning a special diet. this is often very true for youngsters, pregnant women, anyone with anemia and anyone with a pre-existing medical condition. Even natural foods can conflict with certain medications, so please ask your doctor or pharmacist if you are taking any medication. Because a raw food diet is detoxifying some people suffer a light detox reaction including mild headaches, nausea and cravings. These symptoms may last for several days and you’ll get more enjoyment out of your raw food diet if you cut down on things like meat, sugar and caffeine every week approximately before commencing the diet. Last But Not Least A raw food diet is certainly an honest best way to improve your overall health and wellbeing. Like anything worthwhile, it takes time, energy, and commitment. Because many of the foods for this particular sort of diet are prepared from scratch there’s some preparation time involved. There are many great products on the market which will assist you to prepare your own living food and save you some time as well. Combined with regular exercise, a raw food diet is additionally a superb weight-loss method. If you’ve been feeling little off, or simply need a pick-me-up and a few extra energy, then a raw food diet is certainly a good way to go.

Intermittent Fasting
DIET, LifeStyle

The Beginner’s Guide to Intermittent Fasting for Rookies

Intermittent Fasting is a style of eating which is based on alternating fasting with eating in different ways. Although this is a novel strategy that provides several benefits to our health, it may be considered dangerous by some specialists. Even so, this is a practice recommended by nutritionists in general, since our body seems to adapt positively to the impact that lack of food can have. Although there are several types of Intermittent Fasting, let’s talk about the best known. To begin with, they are classified according to the number of fasting hours and the number of hours you can eat. For example, the 16/8 fast consists of 16 hours in which you can’t eat (which is really fasting) and 8 hours in which you should eat your basic meals, whether two or three a day. There are broader versions, such as fast 24 and fast 48, where you can eat for 24 or 48 hours, but you must fast for the same amount of time. Although it may sound a little far-fetched, we want to remember that our body can really adapt to these changes, without suffering from hypoglycemia or any other disorder related to food. Of course, as we often recommend, you need to go to your doctor and explain what you are planning to do. In addition, it may be helpful to get some check-ups before you try something like this. Benefits of Intermittent Fasting Fats and Weight: Since we are not consuming carbohydrates or any other type of food for a long period of time, our body depletes its normal reserves of energy and begins to consume the ones at hand: fats. Therefore, cholesterol and triglycerides descend quite a lot, as well as a large part of our cardiovascular risk. Insulin Sensitivity: the decrease in blood glucose (which is acquired with carbohydrates) improves the way in which our body’s cells capture insulin through various molecular mechanisms. Appetite and self-control: one of the best benefits is that it helps us change our eating habits. Not only will we be able to better regulate our appetite, but we will also be able to control the need to eat and we will be able to reduce the consumption of hyper-processed food or junk food. While it’s worth a try, Intermittent Fasting isn’t for everyone. Patients with very low weight or low muscle mass should not try this type of diet. Ideally, as always, you should be in control with your doctor before trying.

Celebrities who were TEACHERS before
Entertainment

Celebrities who were TEACHERS before

Ten celebrities who were TEACHERS before being famous These show stars were given flowers and chocolates on Teacher’s Day for some time. Find out! Before being famous, many celebrities had a “normal” job, like all of us, whether working in a movie theatre, in an office, or even teaching. They performed very well in the classrooms, as they are remembered as excellent educators who shared their knowledge about laws, languages, or physical education, although we really thank them for having withdrawn from schools. Otherwise, they would never have shared their talent with the world. We want to show you the celebrities who shared talent in a classroom before being actors, writers or musicians, Hugh Jackman He is known for his role as Wolverine, but before being famous, he was a professor of physical education at a school in England, in 1987, although it was for a short period. Gene Simmons Before painting his face and showing the world his huge and famous voice, He was a sixth-grade elementary school teacher. While he and Paul Stanley formed the band, Simmons took the teaching job to earn a little more money. Stephen King He is the author of dozens of chilling and successful novels, but before being famous, he was a teacher. He taught English at Hampden Academy in Maine while writing “Carrie” his first great novel. Brian May Queen’s guitarist is quite a case. She is a doctor of astrophysics, but before being one of the famous members of the British band, May was a professor of mathematics in the first half of the 70, in an area of ​​limited resources in the United Kingdom. JK Rowling After graduating from the University of Exeter, in 1990 Rowling moved to Portugal, where she taught English at an institute. She taught in the afternoons and evenings, before creating the magical world of Harry Potter. Yalitza Aparicio She rose to fame after starring in the film “Roma” by Alfonso Cuarón. Before her screen debut, she was a preschool teacher in Tlaxiaco, Oaxaca, where she is originally from. Sting In 1974, after graduating in Pedagogy from the Northern Counties College of Education in England, he devoted himself to teaching English in a first school until 1977, when he formed the famous band The Police. Alexander Graham Bell We all know him as an inventor, but he had a great vocation for teaching. His mother was deaf by birth, so Graham Bell taught for the deaf. For more than a decade he taught vocal physiology and speech. Barack Obama The former president of the United States was a professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Chicago for 12 years. He left teaching in 2004 when he was elected senator. Dan brown From 1993 to 1996, the author of “The Da Vinci Code” was a Spanish teacher at the Phillips Exeter school in New Hampshire. Then he left his teaching career to devote himself fully to writing. Did you know all this before? Most share this interesting information with all your friends.

word image 51
Entertainment

Super releases on Netflix for FEBRUARY 2020

9 super releases on Netflix for FEBRUARY 2020   The month of Love and Friendship arrives on the streaming platform with “La La Land” and “Narcos” Are you ready to enjoy these series and movies? February is a perfect month to enjoy Netflix. Whether you are with your partner or alone, this streaming platform has options for all tastes, and the series and premiere films that will arrive soon will not let your eye take off the screen. In addition to some classic love stories, we will have the sequel to All the series I fell in love with. You will enjoy the new seasons. We cannot fail to mention that as of February, Netflix will begin incorporating its catalogue of Studio Ghibli productions. From the 1st of this month, you will be able to watch animated films like My Neighbor Totoro, Porco Rosso, The Castle in the Sky, Tales from Earthsea. To put together an ideal marathon to enjoy love and friendship, we present 9 series and premiere movies that come to Netflix in February.   Narcos: Season 2- February 13   Felix must deal with the USA and the consequences of his actions against the DEA while facing discontent within his organization.     Locke & Key- February 7     After the murder of his father, three brothers move to a house with magic keys and hidden powers. Adaptation of the comics of Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodríguez.     Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind-February 14     Clementine decides to have all her memories of Joel removed, and he chooses the same, but soon he begins a crazy journey through his own mind to understand that it was a mistake.     To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You- February 12     The fictional romance between Lara Jean and Peter is already a true love. What will happen before the appearance of another recipient of the letters?     La La Land- February 1   In today’s Los Angeles, two ambitious artists fall in love and discover the joy and pain of risking everything for true passion.     Mother! – February 28   The private life of a poet and his wife cracks when unexpected guests arrive at his peaceful home.     How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days- February 1   A man bets on his colleagues that he can make a woman fall in love in just 10 days, but he chooses the wrong girl: a journalist who also has hidden intentions.     Magic Mike XXL- February 1     Three years after leaving the life of a stripper, Mike and the king of Tampa are convinced that they can keep the title in Myrtle Beach.     Road to Rome- February 11     A documentary about the creative process of ROMA, the Oscar-winning drama, with an intimate interview with Alfonso Cuarón. It’s time to choose which series you want to start, and don’t forget to share the list with all your friends, especially those who are crazy Netflix fans.   Image Source: IMDB  

A Journey Through Time with Antony
Entertainment

A Journey Through Time with Antony

15 Movies for a journey through time What a beautiful childhood we had and we did not realize, we used to have plenty of time and filled it between games or movies. If you want to relive those old days without leaving home or having to call your old friends, just prepare your favourite snack with one of these 15 films that will take you on a journey through time. 1. The sixth sense Malcolm Crowe, a child psychologist, meets Cole Sear, a boy who seems shy but actually has a supernatural gift. A boy who connects with spirits pursues the help of a disheartened child psychologist. 2. The Matrix Thomas Anderson, a software programmer, becomes Neo, a hacker who will have to decide between knowing the reality or continuing within a simulation. A computer hacker learns from enigmatic rebels about the factual nature of his certainty and his role in the war against its controllers. 3. The Lion King Simba, an heir to the throne, is unjustly accused of his father’s death and is forced to live in exile. During his adventure, he will meet great friends and will regain the throne. 4. Titanic Jack wins a ticket to board the Titanic, the world’s largest ocean ship. There he meets Rose, a wealthy girl he will fall in love with her. 5. Edward Scissorhands On Christmas Eve, a grandmother tells her granddaughter the story of Edward Scissorhands, a boy created by an inventor who could not finish his work. 6. Up Carl Fredricksen, a 78-year-old man, manages to fulfill his life’s dream: Travel. What Carl does not expect is to be accompanied by a small boy scout and a talking dog. 7. Gladiator Marco Aurelio, emperor of Rome, decides to transfer his title to Maximus, general of his army and unwavering man, but his son disagrees and will do everything possible to keep the throne. 8. Monsters Inc. Boo, a little girl, enters the world of monsters and because the monsters on the other side of the door believe that she is radioactive. Returning her to her real world will be an odyssey. 9.Toy Story Woody, Andy’s favourite doll, tries to reassure other toys that fear being replaced with new birthday gifts, but everything changes when Buzz Lightyear arrives. 10. The pianist During World War II, a Jewish pianist of Polish origin will have to endure hunger, cold, humiliation and struggles to survive. 11. Shrek To save his swamp from the invasion of fairy-tale characters, Shrek will face the evil Lord Farquaad, and on the way, he will fall in love with an unknown princess. 12.The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring In their attack to end humanity, Sauron’s forces have attacked Minas Tirith, capital of Gondor; Now more than ever the kingdom needs a new king on the throne. Meanwhile, Frodo and Sam continue on their way to Mordor. 13. Avatar Jake is sent to Pandora with the mission of extracting a mineral that could solve the Earth’s energy crisis. To achieve his mission, he will be transformed into a Na’Vi with the Avatar program, which will lead him to debate between love, a new life and the result of a mission. 14. Pirates of the Caribbean Jack Sparrow becomes the enemy of Captain Barbosa after stealing his ship, the Black Pearl, in which he will embark on an inviolable adventure through the waves of the sea. 15. Finding Nemo It tells the story of a clownfish that looks for his son with the help of a particular and careless fish. Image Source: IMDB

Beauty Tips and tricks From Our Moms
Beauty and Fashion

Beauty Tips and tricks From Our Moms

Beauty Tips and tricks From Our Moms Amazing Beauty tips and tricks for our moms Being a mother does not mean having to stop being a woman; that is, you should not lose the more personal and more feminine facet simply because there is a child to care for. It is true that from the first moment you have the baby in your arms, this becomes the top priority, but you should never stop pampering yourself. Specifically, we must continue putting on makeup, enjoying our own hobbies, and applying the beauty treatments that are appropriate but, yes, adapting them to the needs and care of the child. Therefore, to be able to remain bright without it being a bad mother, nothing better than taking into account the following tips: 1-Use multipurpose beauty products One of the most important changes that every woman experiences when she is a mother is the fact that her leisure time is reduced. And it is that the child, especially in the first months of life, requires almost 24 hours of care, so the mother does not have free hours to take care of herself as she would like. For this reason, it is best to change your bag and opt for multi-purpose beauty products, that is, to perform two or more actions at the same time. In this way, you will not need so much time to apply creams or makeup, for example. Thus, in the market, some creams can be used both to hydrate the skin and to nourish it and also fight against aging. 2-Practice exercise One of the keys to being fit, with enviable health and with a perfect image, is sports. However, moms have a hard time being able to practice it as much as they would like. But you need to find space on your agenda to exercise, the one you like the most. For this reason, they can choose to ask their partners or relatives for help to stay with the baby while they go to the gym or go running. All this without forgetting that they can also carry out daily actions that will allow them to be in shape: climbing stairs instead of taking the elevator, taking the dog for a walk, getting off the subway or bus several stops before arriving at work, going to buy walking and not by car. 3-Adapt beauty routines In the same way, the woman’s beauty routines must change when she has a child at home. And it is that the lack of time already mentioned does not allow her to spend several hours applying creams, putting on the dye, painting her nails, in that case, she must shorten those habits and how to do it? Taking advantage of her quality as a woman of “being able to do several things at once.” Thus, for example, you can take advantage of the shower to epilate and exfoliate the skin as well and even let a mask act on your skin while doing any household chores. 4-Rest as much as possible One of the golden rules to look radiant and beautiful is to rest properly. That maxim states that, per day, you have to sleep between 7 or 8 hours. However, that becomes impossible when you are a mother. And is that the dream is interrupted by the crying of the baby. Therefore, when your child is sleeping, you should take the opportunity to do the same, that is, combine and reconcile your breaks with those of the child. It is vital that you prioritize your well-being to have the house in perfect order. And it is that if you rest as much as possible, you will not only look better, but you will be taking care of your own health. 5-Enjoy the small pleasures of life To be beautiful and show off your image, you need to be happy. And to achieve this, you don’t need to enjoy great luxuries, but the small pleasures of life that are what really make sense of it. By this, we mean that the mother must do things that make her feel good, valuable, and lucky. Specifically, you can opt for alternatives such as these: Play with your little one. Hang out with your friends for coffee, dinner, or even party. Have a romantic dinner with your partner. Sing and tell a story to your child. If you are passionate about literature, find a daily time to read. Listen to music. Go to the cinema or the theater in the company of your loved ones. Enjoy family gatherings.  

test tube 5065426 1920 scaled
Health & Lifestyle

COVID-19: the Planet turned into an experimental laboratory

COVID-19: the Planet turned into an experimental laboratory and human became the testing subjects (‘Herd immunity’ vs ‘NO immunity’) The spread of COVID-19 infection turned the world into a human laboratory. I know you don’t want to be part of this experiment but you like to hear about the results of an ongoing experiment around the globe. Maybe it is time to share how scientists in the laboratory perform an experiment. Generally, it is really not a big deal about knowing something that is not your area of interest. But it is a big deal to develop a system with maximum accuracy in any discipline because people expect to see that the system should work with full potential and accuracy. Therefore, whatever you do or wherever you might belong to there are some inherent steps that are obligatory to maintain. Because of the nature of COVID-19 transmission, it is highly recommended in each country to either maintain social distancing (voluntarily) or set extraordinary restrictions on free movement or any sort of assembly. This is our experiment and we all are part of it. But if you go deeper and deeper how an experiment is designed and finally performed in the laboratory is not just like that. The experiments require many fundamental basics to meet before you perform it. Otherwise, it could easily give you a result that cannot be useful or sometimes very detrimental. Depending on the nature of a laboratory experiment one should carefully plan the experiment. For instance, imagine you would like to test a vaccine in mice, the first thing is that these experimental mice need to be housed in a clean environment, with good health, access to food and water and so on. Those are the basics needs before mice receive a vaccine injection. After vaccination, the mice’s immune systems will react and develop immunity which does need a certain time. To confirm if the vaccine is working or not, there are some laboratory testing needed to perform before you announce the results. Unfortunately, either due to lack of knowledge or due to many shortcomings, our planet experiment design was pretty sloppy. There is a number of reasons for that: 1. It is a large scale experiment and no history was available previously 2. Experts never thought we were undergoing an experiment but indeed we are now.. 3. No significant knowledge about the speed of transmission of COVID-19 4. No prediction about who will get infected and who will be vulnerable and who will be recovered 5. Lack of prediction on whether to use a mask or not but declared using a mask, in general, is harmful 6. Of course no medication available All of these above are significant limitations that drove the world into ‘Quarantine’ mode. Few countries showed that extreme social distancing and complete lockdown potentially reduces the cases and spread to the community. For example, South Korea, China was very successful. Because they performed their experiment by maintaining the standard. Other countries, impose FAKE social distancing and finally lockdown but unfortunately, it was late to limit the spread of the infection. Like, USA, Italy, Spain didn’t follow the basic standard of an experiment and it turned out to generate results that are BAD RESULTS. Interestingly, one lesson from ‘BAD data’ is that you can think of sorting the flaws out and do the experiment in a proper way. Some countries still have that opportunity to take the findings seriously to perform their own experiment. One country on the planet, Sweden is doing a completely different experiment, which is following social distancing only at a very minimal level. It is not that Sweden is not hit by the virus but the cases are relatively low when you compare with other EU countries like Germany, Spain, Italy. Interestingly, Swedes believe in ‘Herd Immunity’. What is ‘Herd Immunity” Herd immunity is something that lets people develop immunity against infection or foreign pathogens by natural exposure. So, instead of saying people ‘STAY HOME’ they give the freedom of choice to the people to do normal business, daily work so that enough people become immune against COVID-19. This experiment is not bad but again, this didn’t follow the standard criteria of performing an experiment. For example, This hypothesis is too early to test in the community because there is not much knowledge about this virus in terms of nature of transmission (already found in the stool), colonization and viral load, fitness in the environment, interaction in the upper or lower respiratory tract, and most importantly, when and what type of immune responses would be protective and available in the human body and what group (age) of people will generate this protective immune response are still not available. Sweden is a big country relative to the total number of population. They do have already unwanted social distancing in the society in place to some extent which is comparable to what we in other countries are practicing now. We should not compare Apple to Orange, but it is time to think cautiously. Even under lots of privileges, Sweden is not up to the mark of Diagnosis of COVID-19 cases and people with symptoms strictly advised to ‘STAY HOME’. This is not the time to test the hypothesis in the general population by taking risk of elderly people’s lives and letting younger to generate Herd Immunity. Lots of scientific evidence are desperately needed to go that direction. BY Dr. Jubayer Rahman (PhD in Infectious Immunology), Maryland, USA

man holding a vaccine with woman holding a covid19 poster 3952219 scaled
Health & Lifestyle

Searching COVID-19 specific antibodies: where is our hope?

Antibodies- Never give up; this is where hope stands. Antibody research is one of the oldest parts of the scientific community. People who work in this field must know how important this research is! Most of the routine vaccines that we are giving to infants and toddlers are relying on antibodies. This is usually done by educating the immune system early-life by exposing to a small dose of molecules originated from virus/bacteria, so that the immune system can recognize later and get ready to fight against the actual attack in the future. As science made extraordinary progress during the last decades, antibody research is more focused on the laboratory as a tool to assist other new modern techniques. People have not forgotten the contribution of antibody research; it is slightly shifted towards a different direction, mainly when new and more complex diseases emerged, and clearly, the role of antibody in that context was questionable. This is because scientists found cell-mediated immune responses are more effective against those diseases like cancer, autoimmune diseases, etc.    A simple classification of human immunity: There are two distinct arms in the human immune system that work in collaboration to keep us protected. One is called innate immunity, which is very fast in action but non-specific and knock germs out very efficiently. But innate immune responses are short-lived and cannot remember who attacked first. Therefore, every time when a person encounters either the same pathogen or a different one, the response likely to be the same. Second, another arm of immunity is called adaptive responses, which are further classified into two groups: cellular and humoral or antibody-driven. This adaptive immunity comes late but could be very specific to a pathogen and can remember when next time a person is exposed to the same pathogen. Because of this memory total response against the same pathogen is truly fabulous. The most exciting part of these innate and adaptive arms of the immune system is that they work in collaboration by using lots of their potential molecules that are involved in cross-talk. Because of this network that is in place in the human body, viruses, or bacteria are not always successful in establishing infection.    How does the virus gain entry to a human? Viruses are such a tiny organism that we even could not see without electron microscopy. Although they are small, they could be intense and devastating. One example is the COVID-19 virus; almost all predictions with this pathogen seem to be failed. Interestingly, COVID-19 is not really very different than other COVIDs when the genome sequencing data revealed. But as you probably know that genomic sequencing only unveils how the genetic codes are organized. It does not tell about what messages you would expect. For example, genetic sequences first transcribe and then translated to make proteins. During this process, end products like proteins undergo many modifications which are important for virus against human-resistance. One such modification can be seen in a virus envelope, which is like a shell, helping the virus to make negotiations with the prospective host. This enveloped viral surface has major consequences for viral entry because it fuses with host cell membranes together. Generally, this is thought to be achieved through a complex interaction to a specific cellular host receptor (ACEII receptor) in COVID-19 infection and results in changes in the structure of the viral spike protein that enable forming pores in the host membrane and allows the viral genomes to gain entry into the host cell. Once an entry is achieved, viral replication takes place. How does antibody help? It is not known how exactly COVID-19 gain access to the host and under what circumstances, the human immune system either fails or prevent virus entry into the cells. Based on our knowledge with other respiratory viruses, we can just speculate that if a person is not developing symptoms following COVID-19 exposure, it is likely that the innate immunity was successful in expelling the virus. In that case, there are no antibody responses. If COVID-19 is successful in replication inside the host cells, after infecting alveolar macrophages that are under the lung epithelial lining, there might be an initiation of adaptive immune response by calling other immune cells to come close and start producing antibodies, cytokines, etc. to fight against COVID-19. Since COVID is likely using the spike protein to bind with the host cell receptor, it a general expectation that a neutralizing antibody (nAb) against viral spike protein would be disrupting the viral entry to the host. Additionally, antibodies can also block viral egress by binding to glycoproteins on the infected cell surface, thus preventing viruses from budding. This is why all of the proposed vaccines against COVID-19 are aimed predominantly to induce antibody responses. Another approach in line is to develop a monoclonal antibody against COVID-19 and use it to treat patients with severe COVID-19. What is the rationale behind these aggressive ideas? As I outlined above, how our immune system works and protects us against foreign pathogens, it is the same expectation with COVID-19 that people might generate natural immunity when exposed to COVID-19. Therefore, people either recovered or never developed symptoms but exposed might have that precious protective antibody titers. The good news is that FDA in the USA already announced the approval of a plasma therapy trial at Johns Hopkins University. Takeda has announced a polyclonal hyperimmune antigen-purified antibody concentrate. Regeneron has announced pursuing a monoclonal antibody strategy using its humanized mouse antibody screening platform to produce an antibody cocktail for both therapeutic and prophylactic use. World Health Organization (WHO) has announced a large-scale effort (named SOLIDARITY II) to aggregate serological data collected in different countries and expects to post results from the initiative within the next few months. COVID-19 antibody screening and the risk? Because of the consensus that antibody responses might be the key to block COVID-19, hundreds or more private companies already made kits available in the market suggesting for diagnosis of COVID-19. The

Scroll to Top