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posted by Fnord666 on Monday February 22 2021, @01:20AM   Printer-friendly

A Genetic Variant You May Have Inherited From Neanderthals Reduces the Risk of Severe COVID-19:

[...] SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, impacts people in different ways after infection. Some experience only mild or no symptoms at all while others become sick enough to require hospitalization and may develop respiratory failure and die.

Now, researchers at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) in Japan and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany have found that a group of genes that reduces the risk of a person becoming seriously ill with COVID-19 by around 20% is inherited from Neanderthals.

[...] Last year, Professor Svante Pääbo and his colleague Professor Hugo Zeberg reported in Nature[1] that the greatest genetic risk factor so far identified, doubling the risk to develop severe COVID-19 when infected by the virus, had been inherited from Neanderthals.

Their latest research builds on a new study, published in December last year from the Genetics of Mortality in Critical Care (GenOMICC) consortium in the UK, which [...] pinpointed additional genetic regions on four chromosomes that impact how individuals respond to the virus.

Now, in a study published recently in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)[2], Professor Pääbo and Professor Zeberg show that one of the newly identified regions carries a variant that is almost identical to those found in three Neanderthals – a ~50,000-year-old Neanderthal from Croatia, and two Neanderthals, one around 70,000 years old and the other around 120,000 years old, from Southern Siberia.

[...] To try to understand how this variant affects COVID-19 outcomes, the research team took a closer look at the genes located in this region. They found that three genes in this region, called OAS, code for enzymes that are produced upon viral infection and in turn activate other enzymes that degrade viral genomes in infected cells.

"It seems that the enzymes encoded by the Neanderthal variant are more efficient, reducing the chance of severe consequences to SARS-CoV-2 infections," Professor Pääbo explained.

[...] They found that the variant increased in frequency after the last Ice Age and then increased in frequency again during the past millennium. As a result, today it occurs in about half of people living outside Africa and in around 30% of people in Japan. In contrast, the researchers previously found that the major risk variant inherited from Neanderthals is almost absent in Japan.

"The rise in the frequency of this protective Neanderthal variant suggests that it may have been beneficial also in the past, maybe during other disease outbreaks caused by RNA viruses," said Professor Pääbo.

Obligatory, see also: Ozzy Osbourne's Genome Reveals Some Neandertal Lineage.

Journal References:
[1] Hugo Zeberg, Svante Pääbo. The major genetic risk factor for severe COVID-19 is inherited from Neanderthals [open], Nature (DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2818-3)
[2] Hugo Zeberg, Svante Pääbo. A genomic region associated with protection against severe COVID-19 is inherited from Neandertals [open], Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2026309118)


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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday February 22 2021, @01:41AM (86 children)

    by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Monday February 22 2021, @01:41AM (#1115835) Homepage Journal

    ...the greatest genetic risk factor so far identified...

    False. The genetics controlling the amount of melanin in the skin have a much higher correlation to case severity. Hopefully that was an oversight and not a deliberate omission for PC reasons.

    --
    My rights don't end where your fear begins.
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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @01:49AM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @01:49AM (#1115841)

    Is that only in terms of vitamin D production? We don't have good reporting from Africa [bbc.com] and socioeconomic differences can't be ruled out for US stats. [covidtracking.com]

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @01:53AM (39 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @01:53AM (#1115843)

    Wrong. Dark skin in northern latitudes correlates to lower vitamin d syntheses, but not in Africa, which has lower COVID rates (and more exposure to sun).
    In other words, it’s a lifestyle disease.

    • (Score: 3, Touché) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday February 22 2021, @01:54AM (38 children)

      by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Monday February 22 2021, @01:54AM (#1115844) Homepage Journal

      I'm sorry, you seem to have confused correlation with causation. They're missing you back at slashdot.

      --
      My rights don't end where your fear begins.
      • (Score: 5, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @02:29AM (34 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @02:29AM (#1115851)

        Lifestyle factors for increased risk of COVID include:

        Obesity, type 2 diabetes, lung damage from smoking, criminal lifestyle resulting in jail time, promiscuity, anti-maskers, QAnon conspiracy believers, religious nuts who believe god will protect them, religious nut bars who violate lockdowns and social distancing, antivaxxers, illegal drug use, sedentary lifestyle, not enough time outdoors in winter or summer.

        All these lifestyles increase the odds of getting COVID, same as many other contagious diseases. All these are causes of increased viral spread.

        Countries that imposed strict measures from the beginning are doing fine. Prevention of spread is predominantly done by changes to behaviour - in other words, lifestyle changes.

        • (Score: 2, Interesting) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday February 22 2021, @02:56AM (32 children)

          by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Monday February 22 2021, @02:56AM (#1115858) Homepage Journal

          Irrelevant, the correlation remains a correlation entirely irrespective of why or what else.

          --
          My rights don't end where your fear begins.
          • (Score: 0, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @04:06AM (14 children)

            by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @04:06AM (#1115876)

            Irrelevant, the correlation remains a correlation entirely irrespective of why or what else.

            A lifestyle that avoids infection will correlate with low level/lack of infection, by causation.

            • (Score: 1) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday February 22 2021, @04:48AM (13 children)

              by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Monday February 22 2021, @04:48AM (#1115884) Homepage Journal

              And yet it does not change the high degree of correlation in base melanin levels and symptom severity. Give it up, man, you can't argue with mathematical facts.

              --
              My rights don't end where your fear begins.
              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @01:19PM (1 child)

                by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @01:19PM (#1115962)
                I guess you missed the part where dark skin in Africa has the opposite effect to dark skin in North America. Because of different lifestyles. So the level of melanin is irrelevant.
              • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday February 23 2021, @12:18AM (5 children)

                by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday February 23 2021, @12:18AM (#1116255) Journal

                you can't argue with mathematical facts.

                I can't argue with mathematics, that's true.
                However, I'm not seeing any of the stated facts as yet - citations, TMB, are sorely needed. Until they come, your argument is still into the shitposting category.

                --
                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
                • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 23 2021, @02:02PM (1 child)

                  by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 23 2021, @02:02PM (#1116404)
                  Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it. People used sciencey thinking to justify eugenics. Turns out there was no science, just prejudice against “the other.” Same thing with the claims of a genetic link to higher susceptibility to Covid based on skin colour, which ignores the fact that Sounds Africans have lower rates than even white Americans.

                  And claiming that this is due to the average age of South Africans wing lower ignores that this is entirely due to socioeconomic factors, same as ithe average age was lower in America 100 years ago.

                  But racists will use t race (which is also a social construct with no scientific basis) to justify whatever they want. If colour defined “race”, we would classify dogs blas white or black; parakeets would be green or blue races; and albinos would be a separate race, which is ridiculous.

                  That DNA might be used to detect differences in skin colour is about as irrelevant as using DNA to detect differences in eye or hair colour. Doesn’t make a different race except for those who need race theory to whitewash and current injustices.

                  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 24 2021, @10:53PM

                    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 24 2021, @10:53PM (#1117012)

                    You're a fucking idiot. Dog breeds are just like human races, except humans have been separated longer. No one is stupid enough to say some breeds are not bigger, smarter, or more aggressive, but human breeds/races are a "social construct". STFU, Goi slave.

                • (Score: 1) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday February 23 2021, @02:58PM (2 children)

                  by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Tuesday February 23 2021, @02:58PM (#1116430) Homepage Journal

                  You've been cited. If you want further citations, they're only a google away. That you don't already keep up with this shit gives me a very dim view of your appetite for truth.

                  --
                  My rights don't end where your fear begins.
                  • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday February 23 2021, @04:14PM (1 child)

                    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday February 23 2021, @04:14PM (#1116471) Journal

                    You've been cited.

                    No, I've been provided with a link to an article that, interesting as it may be, says nothing about the "genetics controlling the amount of melanin".
                    Even more, it discusses the impact of life style as the primary cause of concern and uses examples from populations with a variety of genotypes.

                    If you want further citations, they're only a google away

                    Not my responsibility to support or refute your assertion until don't support them enough to become an argument.

                    hat you don't already keep up with this shit gives me a very dim view of your appetite for truth.

                    That you fail to read and comprehend the link you have thrown in the page as citation gives me a very dim about your willingness to make an argument.
                    Shitposting is more likely your motivation.

                    --
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
              • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Reziac on Tuesday February 23 2021, @02:50AM (4 children)

                by Reziac (2489) on Tuesday February 23 2021, @02:50AM (#1116294) Homepage

                Not melanin per se, but whether the subject is likely to be hypothyroid. Compared to whites, blacks (and American Indians) have a higher incidence of hypothyroidism (the root cause of the mass of "risk factors). About 30% of CV19 cases examined were found to have serious damage to the thyroid gland (and it should be noted that the lingering effects are consistent with thyroid damage). Vitamin D is part of that complex, hence the relationship.

                --
                And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
                • (Score: 2, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday February 23 2021, @03:01PM (3 children)

                  by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Tuesday February 23 2021, @03:01PM (#1116432) Homepage Journal

                  Yet again, I was talking about correlation not causation. The term "risk factors" includes correlations that are in no way shown to be causative. Which means TFS and TFA are incorrect. Period.

                  --
                  My rights don't end where your fear begins.
                  • (Score: 2) by Reziac on Tuesday February 23 2021, @04:25PM (2 children)

                    by Reziac (2489) on Tuesday February 23 2021, @04:25PM (#1116478) Homepage

                    Generally when they rattle on about this sort of thing, they're talking about inherited immune response complexes. All the article says, really, is that if you've got Neanderthal ancestors (and therefore are probably white or maybe Asian), you likely inherited some good and some bad with respect to CV19 resistance, depending which region yours fell into. Everyone else, this article is not about you; go find your own ancestral genotype (and your own specialist in that gene pool).

                    That it happens to =correlate= with your +/- melanin... well, that's hardly unique.

                    --
                    And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
          • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @02:27PM (16 children)

            by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @02:27PM (#1115982)
            Any correlation is due to socioeconomic factors. Not genes. Same as lower life expectancy among blacks was true before COVID for the same reasons. It’s the legacy of centuries of racism, not genes.

            And race is a social construct. Just the fact that who was considered white changed with each wave of immigration proves that.

            • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @03:14PM (14 children)

              by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @03:14PM (#1115993)

              Racism makes blacks shoot each other, do drugs, prostitute themselves, and eat a lot of fried food?
              Some white person ought to tell those black folks to stop being racist to each other.

              Seriously, this "racism" concept means you shut off your brain to looking at the details of a problem and trying to come up with a practical solution that individuals can implement. If you come up with a govt scheme to eradicate the "sin of racism" in America to make us all more pure, you will not have done squat to fix any problems. All you will accomplish at best (not even likely) is to purify our souls, which is apparently is still a vital task in a post-religious (anti-religious) civic society.

              • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @04:12PM (12 children)

                by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @04:12PM (#1116015)

                Racism makes blacks shoot each other, do drugs, prostitute themselves, and eat a lot of fried food?

                When they're abused by law enforcement, prevented from getting decent paying jobs, always the lowest priority, and healthy food options aren't available ... yeah.

                • (Score: 0, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @05:48PM (5 children)

                  by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @05:48PM (#1116066)

                  The cops create crime by being there. And the trees waving around makes the wind blow.

                  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @06:07PM (4 children)

                    by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @06:07PM (#1116075)
                    Okay, tell us what's creating the crime, then.
                    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @07:34PM (2 children)

                      by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @07:34PM (#1116106)

                      The wind.

                      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @07:54PM (1 child)

                        by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @07:54PM (#1116122)
                        So... you don't know what's causing it but it definitely isn't socioeconomic factors. Kay. I see we've reached the end of what your news sources covered.
                        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @08:15PM

                          by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @08:15PM (#1116136)

                          All wind (and fury), signifying nothing.

                    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @07:57PM

                      by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @07:57PM (#1116124)

                      Okay, tell us what's creating the crime, then.

                      The problem with loaded questions like that, when asked by loaded people like that, is that even if you wanted to produce a succinct answer and solution of 25 words or less, they would ignore it, and find another approach of attack.

                      They'll accept the stupidest premise on face value if it reinforces the narrative they've been taught since kindergarten, but if there's a bit of insight and a suggestion of developing critical thinking skills, they'll reject the lot.

                • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 23 2021, @02:18AM (4 children)

                  by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 23 2021, @02:18AM (#1116286)

                  I lived in ghettos (African American, and Hispanic) after coming to this country. If you really think this is the case, then you have no fucking idea about the complexities of the situation. But please, continue informing us how you can cure wacism with this one easy trick.

                  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 23 2021, @02:54AM (3 children)

                    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 23 2021, @02:54AM (#1116295)
                    You've either got a reading comprehension problem or there's someone claiming to have a cure for racism and you clicked reply to my post by mistake.
                    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 23 2021, @03:39AM (2 children)

                      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 23 2021, @03:39AM (#1116303)

                      If you follow the lines up, it looks like the post was about you. You know, all that wind you passed about bad cops and the lack of health food stores.

                      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 23 2021, @04:19AM

                        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 23 2021, @04:19AM (#1116315)

                        No claims of curing racism in that post, either.

                      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 23 2021, @06:16AM

                        by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 23 2021, @06:16AM (#1116339)

                        ...lack of stores, health or otherwise.

                • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 24 2021, @11:31PM

                  by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 24 2021, @11:31PM (#1117029)

                  oh like ahmaud armery was "abused". you probably believe the ap jews version of events. dumb fuck.

              • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 23 2021, @02:08PM

                by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 23 2021, @02:08PM (#1116405)
                >> “ Racism makes blacks shoot each other, do drugs, prostitute themselves, and eat a lot of fried food?”

                White trailer trash does the same things. And cocaine is a white elite drug of choice on Wall Street. The poor have to settle for crack and fentanyl and oxy.

            • (Score: 1) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday February 23 2021, @03:02PM

              by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Tuesday February 23 2021, @03:02PM (#1116433) Homepage Journal

              Wrong. Correlations are not "due to" anything. Those are causations. Get a dictionary.

              --
              My rights don't end where your fear begins.
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @05:35AM

          by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @05:35AM (#1115892)

          "not enough time outdoors in winter or summer"
          You should be protected in your mom's basement, though...

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @02:56AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @02:56AM (#1115859)

        I'm sorry, you seem to have confused correlation with causation. They're missing you back at slashdot.

        Hah! They don't miss me one bit, with my male chauvinistic propaganda and all.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @05:49AM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @05:49AM (#1115893)

        You haven't presented any evidence, but there's plenty of evidence for vitamin D being a factor. I think the burden of proof lies on your theory of genetic disability wrt covid in melanistic people.

        • (Score: 2, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday February 23 2021, @03:05PM

          by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Tuesday February 23 2021, @03:05PM (#1116434) Homepage Journal

          Sweet mother of fuck... Are you really going to say you've seen absolutely none of the reports of black and otherwise darker-than-honky folks getting worse cases of coronaids on average?

          A) You're full of shit.
          B) You're asking for a citation of something you damned well know is fact.

          --
          My rights don't end where your fear begins.
  • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday February 22 2021, @02:07AM (29 children)

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Monday February 22 2021, @02:07AM (#1115849) Journal

    Where's my "-2 Shitposting" mod when I need it.

    --
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday February 22 2021, @02:58AM (28 children)

      by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Monday February 22 2021, @02:58AM (#1115860) Homepage Journal

      It's not shitposting, it's a factual correction. They were wrong. Facts don't give a fuck about your feelings or what you want to be true.

      --
      My rights don't end where your fear begins.
      • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @03:10AM (3 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @03:10AM (#1115864)

        Then read this article [umn.edu] and correct your factual errors.

      • (Score: 2, Informative) by c0lo on Monday February 22 2021, @04:01AM (21 children)

        by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Monday February 22 2021, @04:01AM (#1115872) Journal

        It's not shitposting, it's a factual correction

        Citation, or GTFO. So far, not even a reference to the facts was provided, much less facts.
        Until citation at least, it stays in the shitposting category.

        --
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
        • (Score: 3, Informative) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday February 22 2021, @04:55AM (20 children)

          by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Monday February 22 2021, @04:55AM (#1115886) Homepage Journal

          That folks with darker skin are getting the worst of it is extremely widely known and reported. Here, have a citation from your own neck of the woods [thelancet.com]. Would you like a citation for clouds being made up of water vapor as well? How about one for soap and water being quite effective in making your ass smell better?

          --
          My rights don't end where your fear begins.
          • (Score: 2, Redundant) by c0lo on Monday February 22 2021, @05:13AM (3 children)

            by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Monday February 22 2021, @05:13AM (#1115889) Journal

            Here, have a citation from your own neck of the woods [thelancet.com].

            Cited

            Indigenous Australians at increased risk of COVID-19 due to existing health and socioeconomic inequities

            Still shitposting so far. Give it another try, please.

            Would you like a citation for clouds being made up of water vapor as well? How about one for soap and water being quite effective in making your ass smell better?

            You make a claim, you provide citation.
            Otherwise, ignoring it as offtopic.

            --
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
            • (Score: 1) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday February 23 2021, @03:07PM (2 children)

              by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Tuesday February 23 2021, @03:07PM (#1116437) Homepage Journal

              Correlation is not causation.

              Why is not a factor in correlation, only numbers are.

              --
              My rights don't end where your fear begins.
              • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday February 23 2021, @04:04PM (1 child)

                by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday February 23 2021, @04:04PM (#1116463) Journal

                Correlation is not causation.

                Why is not a factor in correlation, only numbers are.

                And this is relevant how?

                Are you going to cite a paper that says "Genes regulating melanin have been correlated with covid prognosis in such and such way" in support for your "The genetics controlling the amount of melanin in the skin have a much higher correlation to case severity"?

                If not, go eff yourself, you're still shitposting.

                --
                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
                • (Score: 2, Interesting) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday February 26 2021, @07:03PM

                  by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Friday February 26 2021, @07:03PM (#1117664) Homepage Journal

                  You can do the math yourself. Genes controlling base melanin levels are correlated with race on a level of certainty way beyond high enough that you can simply use race as a proxy. Which leaves us with a statement that darker raced folks get more severe cases, on average. Which has had enough studies published saying exactly that to choke a horse and not a single reputable one saying they're incorrect.

                  --
                  My rights don't end where your fear begins.
          • (Score: 3, Insightful) by c0lo on Monday February 22 2021, @05:21AM (11 children)

            by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Monday February 22 2021, @05:21AM (#1115890) Journal

            Reminder. Your claim that I'm waiting for citation is "The genetics controlling the amount of melanin in the skin have a much higher correlation to case severity."

            --
            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
            • (Score: 2) by NateMich on Monday February 22 2021, @12:55PM (6 children)

              by NateMich (6662) on Monday February 22 2021, @12:55PM (#1115953)

              Reminder. Your claim that I'm waiting for citation is "The genetics controlling the amount of melanin in the skin have a much higher correlation to case severity."

              I think we all know that even if that were the case, nobody is going to report it that way.

              • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Monday February 22 2021, @01:16PM

                by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Monday February 22 2021, @01:16PM (#1115961) Journal

                Seems TMB knows something that he doesn't want to make public, yes.

                --
                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
              • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @02:30PM (4 children)

                by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @02:30PM (#1115984)
                We have plenty of evidence that poverty, low income jobs, and unequal access to health care are what determines COVID infection and death rates. In other words, the outcome of racism, not genes.
                • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @05:45PM (3 children)

                  by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @05:45PM (#1116063)

                  Of course poverty, and low income jobs are contributed to by genes. You can pretend we're all born equal under God, but somewhere in the back of your mind, some little inkling must fester, reminding you of the times some genetically unenlightened person has done what you expect some of some idiot to do. And then you begin maybe to think that perhaps, maybe, just maybe, there are other issues in the shallow end of the gene pool.

                  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @08:04PM

                    by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @08:04PM (#1116130)

                    Of course poverty, and low income jobs are contributed to by genes...

                    You're, at best, talking about a fraction of a percent of the people affected by poverty.

                  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 23 2021, @02:16PM (1 child)

                    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 23 2021, @02:16PM (#1116409)
                    >> “ Of course poverty, and low income jobs are contributed to by genes. You can pretend we're all born equal under God, but somewhere in the back of your mind, some little inkling must fester, reminding you of the times some genetically unenlightened person has done what you expect some of some idiot to do.”

                    I give you Trump and QANON as counter-examples showing that whites can be far more stupid because of the privilege of being white giving them greater opportunity to do stupid without being called out on it.

                    Watch “Hidden Figures “ it’s the true story of how a group of black women made it possible for America to get back into the space race through grit, determination, and sheer genius.

                    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 24 2021, @11:36PM

                      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 24 2021, @11:36PM (#1117030)

                      "Watch “Hidden Figures “ it’s the true story of how a group of black women made it possible for America to get back into the space race through grit, determination, and sheer genius."

                      What a dumb little bitch you are. You just lap up everything the Jew feeds you don't you?

            • (Score: 1) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday February 23 2021, @03:08PM (3 children)

              by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Tuesday February 23 2021, @03:08PM (#1116438) Homepage Journal

              You had one. You just can't tell the difference between correlation and causation.

              --
              My rights don't end where your fear begins.
              • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Tuesday February 23 2021, @03:58PM (2 children)

                by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Tuesday February 23 2021, @03:58PM (#1116459) Journal

                Foof, mate, you're shitposting again.
                From the citation you provided (have you read it?)

                Chronic disease rates are higher among Indigenous Australians living in remote areas, particularly hypertension and diabetes [5]. Marginalisation from health services, food insecurity, and poor access to water, sanitation, and adequate housing that accommodates larger family groups, amplify COVID-19 risk. Social distancing and self-isolation are unrealistic where more than one third of Indigenous Australians (41.4%) in remote areas live in inadequate housing conditions, compared to just 1.9% of non-Indigenous Australians.

                And this is just for you from the same source

                Comparatively, in the U.S, health, socioeconomic, and cultural inequities among Native Americans have contributed to their overrepresentation among COVID-19 cases [11]. Similar concerns have been expressed by Native American leaders, emphasising the limited capacity of the U.S Indian Health Service to respond to the pandemic due to a chronic lack of government funding, and restricted health infrastructure [12]. Exclusion of Native Americans from COVID-19 racial demographic data published by government health departments, has also been highlighted by Native American leaders as discriminatory and misleading, meanwhile restricting the ability of Indian Health Services to prepare and respond appropriately [12].

                I can guess the restricted health infrastructure impacts your ability to read.

                --
                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
                • (Score: 1) by The Mighty Buzzard on Friday February 26 2021, @07:07PM (1 child)

                  by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Friday February 26 2021, @07:07PM (#1117666) Homepage Journal

                  Nothing you said contradicts anything I said. You just don't like that I'm correct, so you intentionally misread, misunderstand, and outright lie to yourself.

                  Here is the only test to prove whether my claim is true or not: have dark folks had more severe cases of coronaids than less dark folks on average. And since you've found nothing whatsoever that disputes the absolute mountains of data around the world saying I am 100% correct, you need to just take the loss and move on.

                  --
                  My rights don't end where your fear begins.
                  • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Friday February 26 2021, @07:41PM

                    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Friday February 26 2021, @07:41PM (#1117683) Journal

                    Mountain of evidence my ass.

                    I'll let this convo drop, tho', it's a wasted time I can ill afford ATM.

                    --
                    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 23 2021, @01:18AM (3 children)

            by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 23 2021, @01:18AM (#1116268)
            >> “ That folks with darker skin are getting the worst of it is extremely widely known and reported.”

            Blacks have gotten “the worst of it” for 400 years. Well before Covid. The higher illness and mortality rates of blacks have also been true for 400 years. Covid hasn’t been around for 400 years, but racial injustice certainly has.

            • (Score: 2) by Reziac on Friday February 26 2021, @08:02PM (2 children)

              by Reziac (2489) on Friday February 26 2021, @08:02PM (#1117689) Homepage

              ...even in pre-colonial Africa. Somehow racial injustice intruded even before whites arrived, causing higher genetic load, lower IQ, and shorter lifespans.

              --
              And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @01:26PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @01:26PM (#1115965)
        It’s not even a correlation when Africans living in Africa don’t get infected to the same degree as Africans living in the USA. Or are Africans living in Africa all white?

        Explain how Africa didn’t get hit as bad as the USA, when the USA has a much lower number of blacks.

        • (Score: 1) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday February 23 2021, @03:14PM

          by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Tuesday February 23 2021, @03:14PM (#1116440) Homepage Journal

          Yes, it is. Pick a scope, global or US. Or, hell, anywhere there are enough lighter skinned folks to compare to the darer skinned folks. In both the numbers say there is an extremely strong correlation. If you want to take Africa as a specifically cherry-picked region, you have to do so where there are also enough non-black folks to be a statistically significant comparison or you cannot draw any conclusions at all. You can't logically say that they're not affected worse than lighter folks in the same region if there aren't a statistically significant amount lighter folks in the same region.

          --
          My rights don't end where your fear begins.
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @02:33AM (4 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @02:33AM (#1115852)

    Last time I got a suntan it was exposure to the sun, not genetics, that controlled the darkness of my skin.

    • (Score: 3, Funny) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday February 22 2021, @02:59AM (2 children)

      by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Monday February 22 2021, @02:59AM (#1115861) Homepage Journal

      And yet you have a very different base levels of melanin than other races. It's relevant no matter how much it hurts your butt.

      --
      My rights don't end where your fear begins.
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @05:59PM (1 child)

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @05:59PM (#1116073)

        Ooooh, I see, TMB is just mixing up his club life with science info. Generally speaking yes, more melanin does hurt his butt more.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @03:02AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @03:02AM (#1115863)

      Some people turn red and shed epidermis while others get tanned with the same amount of exposure to the sun. My wife's the former, I'm the latter. Sun exposure is of course needed but it isn't the only thing.

  • (Score: 3, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @07:40AM (5 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @07:40AM (#1115905)

    In general black individuals have little to no Neanderthal DNA. Quoting the US National Library of Medicine: [medlineplus.gov]

    The percentage of Neanderthal DNA in modern humans is zero or close to zero in people from African populations, and is about 1 to 2 percent in people of European or Asian background.

    The reason Africa itself has had relatively little impact from COVID is because the median age in Africa is incredibly [statista.com] low. 21 countries within Africa have median ages of 15.4 to 18.8 years, with life expectancy in the 50s. Even relatively more developed countries in Africa, like South Africa, have a median age of just 26.4 years. By contrast, the median age in the US is 38.2. COVID only becomes especially dangerous for people in the 65+ age group, and that group is of negligible size in Africa.

    • (Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @02:35PM (3 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @02:35PM (#1115986)
      The lower median age is entirely due to socioeconomic factors and not genes. “White” countries had the same high birth, infant mortality, and early death rates that caused the population to skew younger in the past. So genes are not a factor. And race is a social construct with no basis in science.
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @03:34PM (2 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday February 22 2021, @03:34PM (#1115999)

        "No basis on science"

        I can tell your social construct from a drop of your spit on with a DNA test.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 23 2021, @02:20PM (1 child)

          by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday February 23 2021, @02:20PM (#1116411)
          I can tell a white dog from a black dog with a DNA test. Doesn’t mean they’re different races - they can even be siblings. Using skin colour to claim people are different races is stupid. So what race are albinos?
          • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 24 2021, @11:50PM

            by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 24 2021, @11:50PM (#1117034)

            Race, loosely ID'd by skin color, facial and other bone structure, hair type, etc in humans is related to where they were bred for 10's if not 100's of thousands of years, just like markings, size, hair length and body structure are used to ID a dog's breed, itself a product of selective breeding over hundreds or thousands of years.

            Human races are different subspecies, but the cowards in "science" won't admit it openly anymore. Nature separated the races just like it separates species of birds. For the races to compete with each other so life gets stronger. The Jew who taught you to self destruct and work against your own people understands this. Why don't you? Oh yeah, your gullible parents sent you off to be raised and indoctrinated by your racial enemies, and their white useful idiots, so your mom could be "liberated from male oppression".

            Whites better wake up because this is intentional and it;'s working.

            https://www.bitchute.com/video/JY6exTqkTQd1/ [bitchute.com]

    • (Score: 1) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday February 23 2021, @03:20PM

      by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Tuesday February 23 2021, @03:20PM (#1116442) Homepage Journal

      In general black individuals have little to no Neanderthal DNA.

      Nah, that only applies to folks with no ancestry that didn't originate in sub-Saharan Africa. Everyone else is fairly likely to have some, even black folks.

      --
      My rights don't end where your fear begins.
  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by cykros on Monday February 22 2021, @02:01PM (2 children)

    by cykros (989) on Monday February 22 2021, @02:01PM (#1115975)

    Except that there is a strong correlation between that melanin and NOT having neanderthal DNA, at least in the case of African descent. TFS does mention that this neanderthal trait exists in about 50% of people outside of Africa; it is presumably quite a bit less common inside of Africa, as most Africans are purebred cro-magnons.

    • (Score: 1) by The Mighty Buzzard on Tuesday February 23 2021, @03:21PM

      by The Mighty Buzzard (18) Subscriber Badge <themightybuzzard@proton.me> on Tuesday February 23 2021, @03:21PM (#1116444) Homepage Journal

      One correlation doesn't negate another. If your argument includes points towards a cause, you're arguing causation not correlation.

      --
      My rights don't end where your fear begins.
    • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 24 2021, @11:53PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday February 24 2021, @11:53PM (#1117036)

      "as most Africans are purebred cro-magnons."

      that's not true from what i've read. sub-saharan africans have all kinds of archaic admixture. europeans usually just have neanderthal, and asians usually only have denisovan.