Doc_Lewis

Doc_Lewis t1_jc2ju74 wrote

For a real world application, see PET scans. Positron emission tomography, a common imaging technique in healthcare, relies upon certain radioactive isotopes that undergo beta decay. That is to say, an up quark in a proton flips to down, and turns the proton into a neutron, and ejects a positron (antimatter electron). When the positron meets an electron, they annihilate and release gamma rays, which are detected.

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Doc_Lewis t1_j9uzj6n wrote

It likely has some effect, but specifically it is not targeted to the H5N1 influenza A virus.

Flu vaccines target the H and N glycoproteins, so it would depend on which epitopes of which H and N was in the flu vaccine this year, and how much homology there is between them and H5 and N1.

My gut says it's probably measurable, but not significant enough to really offer any protection.

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Doc_Lewis t1_j4769nr wrote

I would assume that its use as a durg would mean you can't just extract from meat animals, similar to the chicken farms whose sole purpose is to provide clean eggs for vaccine production you'd probably have a farm growing cows or whatever specifically to get the epinephrine (if you didn't synthesize it).

That being said, extracting more profit is the name of the game, slaughterhouses absolutely find ways to use all of the animal if it can be done. Why raise a whole cow only to sell the steaks? The offal, blood, bones, off cuts and little bits of remaining meat all have uses. That's why pink slime exists, trying to extract all the meat, even if you've got to sanitize it and press it into nuggets.

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Doc_Lewis t1_iw66xxx wrote

I can't speak to cancer specifically, but in other disease areas there are mice bred specifically in to be susceptible to a disease. There are also ways to induce a disease, or a disease like state.

Knockout mice are given something that stops expression of a specific gene which can induce the disease like state.

I've also seen mice getting a kidney removed, which simulates failing kidneys in chronic kidney disease.

To simulate type 1 diabetes, you can treat a mouse with streptozotocin, which kills the islet cells that make insulin.

It can also be as simple as changing diet, to induce obesity and the associated comorbid diseases you can give mice what's know as a fast food diet, which is just their standard chow supplemented with a massive amount of fat.

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