On the hunt for the cause of post-Lyme syndrome
Chelsea Whyte examines several hypotheses about post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (6 June, p 40). Rather than simply being a chronic effect of Lyme disease, which results from infection by the spirochaete bacterium Borrelia burgdorfer, Marcelo Campos says the syndrome may be an entirely different condition caused by another bacterium also spread by ticks.
He also notes: “If you don’t know what you are looking for, then how do you test for it?” This might be especially relevant if any other organism responsible were also a spirochaete, as these are often hard to culture and study.
The idea that any such organism could be spread by tick bites would explain the association with Lyme disease. As Campos further notes, co-infections can be common in Lyme disease.
If the putative organism were a spirochaete, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to wonder whether there would be a good chance that the range of symptoms would also be similar to Lyme disease. This would make the diagnostic picture very hard to disentangle.
Since treatment would probably involve the early administration of antibiotics, accurate diagnosis would seem urgent so that people can get timely medication.
Other impacts possible for those who had covid-19
In your article “The enduring grip of covid-19”, Paul Garner says his symptoms “are the same as chronic fatigue syndrome, with one difference 鈥� CFS is defined as not having a cause” (27 June, p 34).
That isn’t accurate. Because there are currently no diagnostic tests for , also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), other possible causes of symptoms must be excluded before a diagnosis can be made.
However, it is well established that this illness can be triggered by infections such as the Epstein-Barr virus, and it is possible that covid-19 could lead to ME/CFS in certain cases.
Surely recycled indoor air is a coronavirus risk factor
Alan Harding wonders if air conditioning is a risk in spreading the coronavirus (Letters, 2 May). I would say there is little doubt it can spread disease when you consider the issues of recycled air in aircraft and sick building syndrome in high-rise office blocks.
Oxygen isn't always a good thing for life
Your excellent interview in which Kevin Hand discusses the possible exploration of our solar system’s moons offers the prospect of finding not just microbial life, but even multicellular life on Europa, which orbits Jupiter (20 June, p 40).
This suggestion is based on oxygen being delivered to the ocean below as a result of chemical changes caused by Europa’s frozen surface being bombarded by charged particles. While the rise of oxygen on Earth is considered to have fuelled the emergence of multicellular organisms, the vast majority of unicellular life evolved in an anaerobic environment over billions of years prior to the rise in oxygen in our air and oceans.
Oxygen would have been toxic to early life on Earth. So if it were present early in Europa’s history, as seems likely, might that not be a barrier to the evolution of life?
Reasons to doubt a fusion-powered world
You consider developments that might help nuclear fusion become a reality (13 June, p 30). But even if it does, do we want society to be fusion-powered?
Like fission, fusion will always profligately consume engineering skill and capital investment, and it would mean putting all our eggs in one basket. If a fusion plant design has an unexpected problem, what would we do? Shut the grid or keep going with fingers crossed?
Maybe wind, solar and tidal energy will provide some relief. But, according to the article, “they are limited and unpredictable”. Never mind commercial fusion being 30 years away 鈥� that view of renewables is 30 years out of date.
Wind and solar work at all scales, on and off-grid. They offer autonomy and, through social ownership, everyone can share the benefits. They are already the cheapest electricity sources, with regular improvements in efficiency and economies of scale.
What’s more, wind and solar are compatible with energy storage systems of all types and could be used to make hydrogen fuel.
Reasons to doubt a fusion-powered world (2)
With two advanced degrees in plasma physics, I wouldn’t advise anyone to follow Abigail Beall’s optimism on when fusion power will be a reality, with or without the help of artificial intelligence.
The Stanford plasma physics group I was involved with may have a 100th anniversary in 2061. Bets on its food and drinks being prepared via fusion electricity?
Reasons to doubt a fusion-powered world (3)
Your article writes off nuclear fission in less than a sentence: “Nuclear fission comes with the dangers of reactor meltdowns and radioactive waste.”
In fact, there is a well-known form of fission, using molten salt reactors, which has neither of these problems. The nuclear reaction in such reactors slows as temperature increases, so no meltdowns. At least one molten salt reactor actually uses existing nuclear waste as its fuel.
These reactors are low cost to build and operate. We have a clean and safe solution to climate change right in front of us, yet we repeatedly and wilfully ignore it in favour of a more distant hope. Our children aren’t going to thank us.
What came first, laughter or a happy mind?
Your article on the wider body’s role in consciousness was fascinating, but this idea was anticipated long ago (27 June, p 28).
The US philosopher and psychologist William James was a proponent of the idea of embodied cognition towards the end of the 19th century. “We don’t laugh because we’re happy, we’re happy because we laugh,” he said, encapsulating his idea that mental states follow bodily sensations rather than the other way round, as seems the more logical order.
For the record 鈥� {11 July 2020}
鉂� Aya Osman was born in Saudi Arabia and, on her first day of orientation for a postdoctoral degree in the US, was one of a handful of black doctors (27 June).