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-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Corona Is Slowing Down, Humanity Will Survive, Says Biophysicist Michael Levitt
2020-03-16
Something to ponder.
[CALCALISTECH] Nobel laureate and Stanford professor Michael Levitt unexpectedly became a reassuring figure in China at the peak of the coronavirus
...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...
 pandemic. Now he assures Israelis: statistics show the virus is on a downturn.

Nobel laureate Michael Levitt, an American-British-Israeli biophysicist who teaches structural biology at Stanford University and spends much of his time in Tel Aviv, unexpectedly became a household name in China, offering the public reassurance during the peak of the country’s coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak. Levitt did not discover a treatment or a cure, just did what he does best: crunched the numbers. The statistics led him to the conclusion that, contrary to the grim forecasts being branded about, the spread of the virus will come to a halt.
Posted by:trailing wife

#17  The really devout folks in Iran have statues to lick so things will sort themselves out.
Posted by: ruprecht   2020-03-16 22:09  

#16  Iranian numbers are fiction.
Posted by: European Conservative   2020-03-16 22:07  

#15  #13 But the silver lining is that Iran is in third place.
Should I feel bad for pointing that out?

No.
Posted by: Lex   2020-03-16 22:04  

#14  A second (virus after) strategy or task force should be running parallel to any current anti-Covid-19 effort. Not sure how this does not fall within the sphere of WMD/chemical-biological counter proliferation. Still hearing virtually nothing from the intelligence community. That would be the people whose job it is 'to protect us from the threat of WMD proliferation.'

Yes, 9/11 redux. Same-same, no heads lining the Memorial Bridge rail.
Posted by: Besoeker   2020-03-16 18:45  

#13  But the silver lining is that Iran is in third place.

Should I feel bad for pointing that out?
Posted by: Bobby   2020-03-16 18:02  

#12  Also I agree that in SKor the number of new cases per day is now less than the number of people discharged per day, which is great news.

Hard to quantify a disease that transcends regional boundaries. Are deaders counted in the ADT numbers, or as transfers to the morgue. Do those that die at home get counted?

How about the instate 50k US troops? Is that population monitored or only reported when they rotate home as DoD numbers?

All the numbers are exclusive or made up but trending bad.
Posted by: Skidmark   2020-03-16 16:51  

#11  ^Because of the time course, it has to run it's time course. SKors got it earlier (probably immediately after China), and it run its time course. USA got it later.
Italy, nobody gets Italy, the only reasonable theory: they have limited med equipment & personnel.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2020-03-16 15:42  

#10  grom

SKor has pretty good data as they tested over 200k people.

Also I agree that in SKor the number of new cases per day is now less than the number of people discharged per day, which is great news.

But that is not true in the US or France or Italy or Spain.
Posted by: lord garth   2020-03-16 15:33  

#9  Spain becomes 4th most coronavirus-infected nation, seizes all private health care [passes South Korea]
Posted by: Skidmark   2020-03-16 15:12  

#8  Not even sure what he means by 'virus is on a downturn'. Is this statement quantifiable and testable?

Click at the link and look at the data from South Korea
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2020-03-16 14:41  

#7  Problem with Levitt's analysis is that the numbers he used are almost certainly wrong, significantly wrong

NKor, Syria still report no infections. Some countries (Iran, Turkey) are almost certainly under counting.

Not even sure what he means by 'virus is on a downturn'. Is this statement quantifiable and testable?
Posted by: lord garth   2020-03-16 11:18  

#6  The "bikers" were good little chilluns and listened to their gummint mammies here in Daytona. They went home early.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2020-03-16 10:17  

#5  Thank goodness! I can come out of my underground bunker with my doomsday supply of food, toilet paper, wipes, and hand sanitizer (sarc).

Glad to see voices of reason. Not everyone is concerned with Covid19.

Oldsters and youngsters give the finger to Covid19 and frolic in Ft. Liquordale.
Posted by: JohnQC   2020-03-16 10:08  

#4  Sanity. Calm. Competence. Numeracy.

Of course you don't hear this man interviewed by our innumerate, incompetent, hysterically and insanely anti-Trump media fools.
Posted by: Lex   2020-03-16 09:44  

#3  But you won't be hearing this information on The View.
Posted by: M. Murcek   2020-03-16 09:33  

#2  ^And Singapore developed a test that's based on antibodies not nuclear acids.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru   2020-03-16 03:04  

#1  Based on these statistics, Levitt said, he concluded that many people are just naturally immune to the virus.

The Wuhan virus is still adapting as a human pathogen. Adaptive radiation and subsequent competition between subspecies should be expected.

So, alternatively, these people might have survived an infection by a Wuhan subspecies that has evolved to be highly contagious and asympthomatic and thus acquired a measure of immunity.

If people were screened not only for viral RNA but also for antibodies this hypothesis could be confirmed or falsified.
Posted by: Elmerert Hupens2660   2020-03-16 02:15  

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