January “scientific” rumor list: Will the new coronavirus vaccine change human genes?

The January "scientific" rumor list is here! Will the COVID-19 vaccine change human genes? Can earlobe creases indicate coronary heart disease? Can "self-heating underwear" heat up on its own? Let's see the truth.

The monthly "science" rumor list is guided by the Beijing Association for Science and Technology, Beijing Municipal Cyberspace Administration, and the Capital Internet Association, and jointly released by the Beijing Science and Technology Journalists and Editors Association and the Beijing Regional Website Joint Rumor-Refuting Platform, and supported by the Science Communication Professional Committee of the China Science Writers Association, the China Evening News Science Editors and Journalists Association, the Shanghai Science Communication Association, and the Beijing Institute of Scientific and Technological Information.

1. COVID-19 vaccines will change human genes

gossip:

The mRNA COVID-19 vaccine can embed the virus's genes into human chromosomes through reverse transcription, turning the vaccine recipient into a genetically modified human.

the truth:

There are two main types of vaccines that have been approved for marketing worldwide: one is the mRNA vaccine and the other is the inactivated vaccine. No matter which vaccine is used, it will not change human genes, let alone turn the vaccine recipients into "genetically modified people."

Inactivated vaccines use chemical and other methods to render the new coronavirus infective and replicable, while retaining the activity that can induce human immune response. They are a traditional and classic method of vaccine preparation, not a genetically engineered vaccine, and there is no question of "changing human genes".

The mRNA COVID-19 vaccine mainly uses genome sequencing and analysis to produce vaccines using part of the gene encoding the spike protein of the new coronavirus as an antigen. The mRNA COVID-19 vaccine only contains a nucleic acid sequence of the virus that encodes the protein, and human cells then use their own components and the template of the viral mRNA to synthesize proteins. Its viral nucleic acid material is neither integrated into the human cell genome nor replicated and amplified in the cell. Not only are the cells not hijacked by the virus, but they use the proteins they synthesize together to train a group of "mercenaries" and then use the "mercenaries" to guard against the invading enemy - the new coronavirus.

Most importantly, mRNA vaccines do not need to enter the cell nucleus to express antigen proteins. The immune cells in the human body will actively enrich (collect) antigen proteins and produce neutralizing antibodies through a series of molecular mechanisms.

The new coronavirus is an RNA virus, but not a "reverse transcription RNA virus", so the genes of the new coronavirus will not be integrated into human chromosomes. The chromosomes carrying the human genome exist in the cell nucleus, which is wrapped by the nuclear membrane. For mRNA vaccines, the nanoparticle carrier of the vaccine only delivers the gene fragments of the virus into the cytoplasm and does not enter the cell nucleus at all. If it cannot even enter the cell nucleus, how can it have a chance to integrate into the human genome?

Therefore, the claim that getting the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine will turn you into a genetically modified person is completely alarmist.

2. Earlobe wrinkles can predict coronary heart disease

gossip:

Earlobe creases can predict atherosclerotic disease.

the truth:

The earlobe is mainly composed of connective tissue, without cartilage or ligaments. Its blood supply comes from the posterior auricular artery and the anterior auricular branch of the superficial temporal artery. Local ischemia may cause contraction of the earlobe skin and form wrinkles. This is a normal physiological phenomenon and is not necessarily related to coronary heart disease.

Coronary heart disease is a heart disease caused by atherosclerotic lesions in the coronary arteries, which causes vascular stenosis or blockage, resulting in myocardial ischemia, hypoxia or necrosis. In short, the blood vessels supplying the heart are narrowed, the heart is not supplied with enough blood, and the body exhibits a series of symptoms such as chest tightness and chest pain. According to the "Guidelines for the Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases in China": In addition to uncontrollable factors such as age, gender, and genetics, hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, obesity and overweight, smoking, and poor eating habits are all independent risk factors for coronary heart disease.

Studies have found that the mechanism of earlobe creases may be related to special sleeping postures, genetic background, premature aging, oxidative stress, collagen degradation, etc., and the specific mechanism is still unclear. Earlobe creases have never been included in domestic and foreign guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of coronary heart disease, expert consensus, and medical textbooks, which shows that they are not very instructive for doctors. In clinical practice, cardiovascular doctors diagnose whether a person has coronary heart disease based on the patient's medical history, clinical symptoms, physical examination, electrocardiogram, echocardiogram, myocardial markers, coronary artery CT, coronary angiography and other related examinations. These are obviously more reliable than observing earlobe creases.

3. "Self-heating underwear" can heat itself

gossip:

The self-heating underwear, a "winter magic weapon", can generate heat on its own and maintain a constant temperature of 37°C, applying a variety of black technologies.

the truth:

Most businesses selling thermal underwear claim that their thermal underwear contains a layer of "high-tech" material that can generate heat on its own and has a warmth-retaining effect several times greater than traditional pure cotton thermal underwear, and that it is "black technology," etc.

From the perspective of the law of conservation of energy, self-heating is not scientific, because energy needs a source, and heat cannot be generated out of thin air. At present, there is no material in the world that can truly generate heat by itself, that is, there is no real self-heating clothing.

The so-called self-heating underwear is actually a substitution of the principle of "heating by absorbing moisture" of fibers. As we all know, the stratum corneum on the surface of human skin will discharge moisture. When the human skin emits water vapor, the water vapor will dissipate heat when it liquefies, which is an important reason why we feel cold in winter.

Generally speaking, if you want to resist the cold, it is best to wear thicker clothes. The thermal conductivity of still air is the lowest. Under the premise of no air flow, the more air the fiber layer can hold, the better the warmth retention of the clothing. However, although bulky and heavy clothes can achieve the warmth retention effect, they are not only poor in appearance, but also inconvenient to move. Therefore, clothing manufacturers began to work hard on fabrics: on the one hand, the material must be light and thin enough, fit well and easy to put on and take off; on the other hand, the warmth retention performance must be good enough, and fiber materials are a good choice. When the fiber absorbs water, the hydrophilic groups in the fiber molecules combine with the water molecules, and the kinetic energy (water vapor) of the water molecules is reduced, and at the same time converted into heat energy and released, which is hygroscopic heat. The higher the hygroscopicity of the fiber, the more heat is dissipated during the moisture absorption process. Therefore, the so-called self-heating underwear is actually underwear made of special fiber materials with the effect of "moisture absorption and warmth retention". For example, the main materials of a certain brand of self-heating underwear are polyester fiber and viscose fiber, of which acrylic fiber is responsible for warmth, viscose fiber is mainly responsible for breathability and sweat removal, and also assists in warmth, polyester is responsible for wrinkle resistance, and spandex is responsible for making the clothes fit better. As the "heating capacity" continues to increase, it can be seen that the total proportion of viscose and acrylic fiber is also roughly increasing.

After the fiber materials and components are "recombined", self-heating underwear is indeed warmer than ordinary autumn clothes and autumn trousers. However, self-heating underwear is greatly affected by the environment, and it has no heat absorption ability in a very dry environment. For example, in the dry and cold northwest and north China regions in winter, the effect of self-heating underwear is definitely not as good as that in the Yangtze River Basin. In addition, maintaining a constant temperature is not an easy task. The fiber absorbs moisture to saturation, absorbs less water, and generates less heat at this time. According to the principle of conservation of energy, the moisture absorbed by the fiber material needs to be released, which is a process of "absorbing heat and dissipating moisture". In other words, self-heating underwear is actually circulating in the process of absorbing moisture-releasing heat-releasing moisture-absorbing heat, which is not good for some people with sensitive skin.

4. Eating more lard is good for the cardiovascular system and has health benefits

gossip:

Eating more lard is good for the human cardiovascular system and has health benefits. Lard is simply a treasure.

the truth:

Lard does have certain nutritional value. It can provide essential fatty acids for the human body, promote the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, and provide calories. The fat ingested from the diet is an important source of calories for the human body.

But lard is not a health product. The main component of lard is fat, and a large part of it is saturated fat, which has no special effect on human health, let alone cure diseases.

In addition, lard has too much energy, and eating too much is not good for health. The energy provided by fat to the human body every day should not exceed 25% of the total energy required by the body. Taking an adult who needs 2,000 kcal of calories per day as an example, the daily intake of saturated fat should be controlled at around 22 grams; if it is all converted into lard, it is about 56 grams. If the energy supply of fat accounts for more than 30%, it is easy to suffer from a variety of chronic diseases, the most common of which is cardiovascular disease. A large number of scientific studies have found that excessive intake of fat (especially saturated fat) and excessive energy intake will increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Therefore, saying that eating more lard is good for the cardiovascular system is completely putting the cart before the horse.

5. Tea can kill the new coronavirus

gossip:

90% of the new coronavirus can be killed by tea within one minute, and 99.9% of the new coronavirus can be killed by tea within ten minutes. This conclusion was verified by a video by Qiao Guibin, chief physician of the Department of Thoracic Surgery at Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital.

the truth:

The study reported online refers to a study by a research team led by Professor Hisaichi Yano of the Department of Microbial Infectious Diseases at Nara Prefectural Medical University in Japan on the inactivation effect of different teas on the new coronavirus. The article concluded that this study failed to verify the effect of "drinking tea can prevent infection with the new coronavirus."

In addition, the study was conducted in a test tube, in other words, an in vitro experiment. The results of in vitro virus killing cannot be directly deduced from the results of drinking it into the body. So far, there is no complete evidence-based evidence such as antiviral data or clinical trial data at the in vitro cell level and in vivo animal experiments, as well as dose relationships, to prove that drinking tea alone can prevent or treat new coronavirus infection. Everyone still needs to strictly implement personal protective measures.

On January 7, 2021, Dr. Qiao Guibin, chief physician of the Department of Thoracic Surgery at Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, published an article on his official Weibo account titled "Regarding the short video circulating online that says 'tea can kill the new coronavirus', please keep your eyes open!" to refute the rumor. Dr. Qiao Guibin pointed out that the video circulating online was taken out of context, and the rumor refutation was turned into a rumor. Please keep your eyes open and do not believe the rumor.

(Content sources: WeChat official account of "Shanghai Online Rumor Refutation", WeChat official account of "China Voice of China Central Radio and Television", WeChat official account of Beijing Science and Technology News, WeChat official account of "Wuhan Fourth Hospital", WeChat official account of "Guokr", WeChat official account of "Dingxiang Doctor", WeChat official account of "Digital Beijing Science Center", China Consumer News, China Science and Technology Network, Xinhua News Agency, Beijing Evening News, Southeast Net's "Fujian Internet Reporting and Refutation Platform", WeChat official account of "Popular Science China", pictures from the Internet)

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