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Science YouTuber physicsgirl (Dianna Cowern) stands for the first time in 2 yrs

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121–130 of 334 posts

Re: Science YouTuber physicsgirl (Dianna Cowern) stands for the first time in 2 yrs

#121
post #13

Anecdote: Back in October '24 I got Covid. My only symptom that stuck around was lack of taste on my tongue (NOT Anosmia, it's lack of salty/sweet/sour/bitter response on the tongue itself), but only on the right half of my tongue. It slowly got better, but last week I lost taste on that side of my tongue again. The taste is coming back again now. Anyway, I have no idea what's going on with me; it's not really severe…

Zinc is a critical cofactor for enzymes involved in the regeneration and function of taste receptor cells. These cells have a high turnover rate, and zinc deficiency can impair their renewal. Zinc supplementation is usually the first line of treatment in taste disturbances, especially when nerve damage is not suspect, and it's often effective. See, e.g.: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S246854882...

Also: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23305423/

It's possible that covid infection somehow disrupted zinc homeostasis. Taste receptor cells also express ACE2, which is what the virus tends to latch onto... I suppose a feasible mechanism -- or at least a hypothesis -- is that viral binding to ACE2 may have downregulated zinc-dependent signaling pathways (for e.g., those involving metallothioneins or zinc-finger transcription factors).

Re: Science YouTuber physicsgirl (Dianna Cowern) stands for the first time in 2 yrs

#122
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The "so called Long COVID" really just means "I got covid and I remain unwell in some way, long term". I'm not sure it needs to be questioned if those two qualifying things are given. Very well might be the same thing as ME/CFS, or might not, I don't think we have a conclusive answer yet about what causes either.

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… along with mental/emotional disorders being a character fault.

Re: Science YouTuber physicsgirl (Dianna Cowern) stands for the first time in 2 yrs

#123
post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

take a flashlight to your nostrils in a dark room with a mirror, are they inflamed? It could be reflux/silent reflux like I have, gases inflame the sinuses, then it's hard to breathe.

For any sinus inflammation issues, I would recommend trying Neti. I had more or less constant inflammation growing up, two weeks of daily Neti solved that problem for good.

that didn't work for me. It helped in the moment but didn't address the underlying problem.

Re: Science YouTuber physicsgirl (Dianna Cowern) stands for the first time in 2 yrs

#124
Since it hasn't been mentioned yet, I had two debilitating flare ups of EBV (Epstein Barr Virus) post covid. It's commonly latent (apparently 90% of humans carry it) and will opportunistically flare up when the immune system is compromised. It commonly causes mono in teenagers, but more generally will cause crushing fatigue and related symptoms. There are no known cures, but plenty of things you can do to support the immune system. It can be detected with a blood test. If you think you have long covid, get an EBV test - might help.

Re: Science YouTuber physicsgirl (Dianna Cowern) stands for the first time in 2 yrs

#125
post #37
post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Are you bleeding?" "No." "It's probably stress, then."

if only we could objectively (and easily) measure pain and energy levels (feeling tired) and even stress. stress is used here as a dismissal (not by you but the hypothetical doctor you are parodying) but stress too is a real health factor that people need help with.

Yeah, sorry, that wasn't meant to be dismissive of stress or burnout. There's probably a reason doctors always ask about it, but it can be an annoying to have to talk about your job when you've got physical symptoms.

(As a sidenote, why do doctors always assume stress is work related? Work is fine, but have you looked at the world...)

Re: Science YouTuber physicsgirl (Dianna Cowern) stands for the first time in 2 yrs

#127
post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ADHD and Autism are interesting, because they are entirely based on certain clinical presentations and the opinion of the diagnosing practitioner. There are a certain set of traits that are "classically" ADHD for example, so what happens if you show 80% of those traits and show the counter-case for 20% of the traits? I expect that neurodivergence is going to become far more nuanced in its assessment, with a better un…

You can literally see ADHD in a brain scan, especially if you contrast it with after someone has taken the proper medication for it. This isn't some sort of witchcraft, it's a physical thing that's measurable.

It's not a strict relationship as far as I understand though. As in, frontal lobe issues are visible on many brain scans, but those brain scans are not specific enough to map onto ADHD diagnosis. So we don't have a good diagnostic test right now even though we have many population-level confirmed differences that we can run tests and statistics on.

Re: Science YouTuber physicsgirl (Dianna Cowern) stands for the first time in 2 yrs

#128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I find it interesting that she's both kept her Patreon up during this time and has also become far more successful https://graphtreon.com/creator/physicsgirl , in spite of posting no content.

This is honestly shocking and I don't know how to process this information.

Why is that shocking? Her existing subscribers continued to support her, but also multiple other famous youtubers talked about her which got her new attention/subscribers. I've seen at least 3 other channels giving her a dedicated video and YouTube is still serving me her shorts.

Re: Science YouTuber physicsgirl (Dianna Cowern) stands for the first time in 2 yrs

#129
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The "so called Long COVID" really just means "I got covid and I remain unwell in some way, long term". I'm not sure it needs to be questioned if those two qualifying things are given. Very well might be the same thing as ME/CFS, or might not, I don't think we have a conclusive answer yet about what causes either.

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Doesn’t the Bible specifically mention against this line of thinking?

Re: Science YouTuber physicsgirl (Dianna Cowern) stands for the first time in 2 yrs

#130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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Not OP, but I still wear a mask on planes, wash my hands more often and more thoroughly, avoid touching my eyes, use more air filters, and don't share foods with my kids.

Same! Prior to the pandemic I almost always got sick post flight. I now wear a mask and take better precautions and all that and haven't been sick after being a lot more cautious about it. Frankly, worth it for me as I'd often end up miserable for weeks after a trip. Minor inconvenience of wearing a mask and being more aware of what I'm doing results in far less pain later.
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