{"id":270728,"date":"2023-08-01T12:18:20","date_gmt":"2023-08-01T10:18:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=270728"},"modified":"2023-08-01T12:18:23","modified_gmt":"2023-08-01T10:18:23","slug":"another-day-another-alarm-the-time-travelling-pathogen-paranoia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=270728","title":{"rendered":"Another Day, Another Alarm: The \u2018Time-Travelling\u2019 Pathogen Paranoia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Grab your popcorn, folks! The curtain is up and we\u2019re being treated to the latest in a long line of climate alarmist productions: the tale of ancient, frozen pathogens wreaking havoc on our unsuspecting modern world. According to a new study published in PLOS Computational Biology, these \u2018time-travelling\u2019 pathogens could emerge from the melting ice and permafrost due to climate change, posing significant threats to ecosystems and humanity itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Climate change could hasten the release of \u2018time-travelling\u2019 pathogens from melting permafrost and ice that have been trapped for millennia. Their emergence increases threats to the global environment and even humanity itself.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While melting glaciers and permafrost risk the re-emergence of many types of dormant pathogens, the potential destruction to modern ecosystems posed by these microbes has been difficult to predict.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.eurekalert.org\/news-releases\/996618<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

According to Dr. Giovanni Strona, lead author of the study,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cThe scientific debate on the topic has been dominated by speculation, due to the challenges in collecting data or designing experiments to elaborate and test hypotheses. For the first time, we provide an extensive analysis of the risk posed to modern ecological communities by these \u2018time-travelling\u2019 pathogens through advanced computer simulations.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.eurekalert.org\/news-releases\/996618<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The researchers have run some impressive-sounding digital simulations, pitting modern microbial communities against their ancient counterparts and observing the ensuing chaos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, the inevitable doomsday results are presented. The study reveals that<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
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\u201cabout 1% of those invaders presented unpredictable results \u2014 some caused up to one third of the host species to die out, while others increased diversity by up to 12% compared to the simulations where escape was not permitted.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.eurekalert.org\/news-releases\/996618<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

For the uninitiated, it might sound like we\u2019re on the cusp of an ecological apocalypse. But for those who\u2019ve seen this show before, it\u2019s the same old fear-mongering script dressed up with different props.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As is so often the case, the devil is in the details. These \u201ccomputer simulations\u201d are just that \u2013 simulations, not reality. As all mathematicians and scientists worth their salt know, any model is only as good as its inputs and assumptions. Simulating the interactions of long-dormant pathogens with modern ecosystems involves countless variables and uncertainties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flinders University Professor Corey Bradshaw furthers the climate catastrophe narrative by suggesting that the release of these pathogens is \u201cnot negligible\u201d and warns that<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cin the worst, but still entirely plausible case, the invasion of a single ancient pathogen reduced the size of its host community by 30% when compared to our non-invasive controls.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.eurekalert.org\/news-releases\/996618<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Yet he conveniently fails to mention the wide range of outcomes these simulations produced, focusing solely on the \u2018worst-case\u2019 scenarios that fuel the most fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interestingly, the researchers admit that the risks from these pathogens might seem small, given that they are based on just 1% of their simulations. However, they quickly follow this concession with an attempt to amplify fear by asserting that<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cgiven the sheer number of ancient microbes regularly released into modern communities, these outbreaks represent a substantial danger.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/www.eurekalert.org\/news-releases\/996618<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

While they don\u2019t specifically mention it, this is another case of Climate Alarmists\u00a0using the logic of Pascal\u2019s Wager in policy debates<\/a>. What these \u201cscientists\u201d fail to appreciate when accepting the logic of the wager, is that in order to be logically consistent they now must attend church religiously and become pious Christians. You can\u2019t pick and choose when you apply the logic. It either is valid or it isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are these so-called \u2018time-travelling\u2019 pathogens really the significant threat we\u2019re being led to believe, or just another piece in the alarmist puzzle, designed to generate fear and secure more funding for climate-related research?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Science should not be a tool for manipulation and alarmist propaganda. We must demand better from those who seek to inform us, insisting they do so in a manner that respects the complexities and uncertainties inherent in their work, rather than resorting to simplified scare tactics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Readers, what are your thoughts on this latest climate alarmist tale? Drop your comments below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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JOURNAL<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

PLoS Computational Biology<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DOI<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

10.1371\/journal.pcbi.1011268\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

METHOD OF RESEARCH<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Computational simulation\/modeling<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SUBJECT OF RESEARCH<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

People<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ARTICLE TITLE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Time-travelling pathogens and their risk to ecological communities<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Grab your popcorn, folks! The curtain is up and we\u2019re being treated to the latest in a long line of climate alarmist productions: the tale of ancient, frozen pathogens wreaking havoc on our unsuspecting modern world. According to a new study published in PLOS Computational Biology, these \u2018time-travelling\u2019 pathogens could emerge from the melting ice and permafrost due to climate change, posing significant threats to ecosystems and humanity itself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":270739,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818721,691818056,691820621,691821502,691821503,691821501],"class_list":{"0":"post-270728","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-climate-alarmists","9":"tag-climate-change","10":"tag-computer-simulations","11":"tag-dr-giovanni-strona","12":"tag-ecological-apocalypse","13":"tag-plos-computational-biology","15":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/image-5.png?fit=1024%2C1024&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-18qA","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":333379,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=333379","url_meta":{"origin":270728,"position":0},"title":"Climate Alarmism is the existential threat to humanity","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"20\/06\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"While in France observing the 80th anniversary of D-Day and honoring the thousands of brave soldiers who gave their lives fighting the existential threat that was Nazi Germany, President Joe Biden could not help himself from descending into crass political talking points by comparing the most destructive and deadly war\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"climate alarmism\"","block_context":{"text":"climate alarmism","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-alarmism"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/0MAVDWrk5TiZiw6PzrqdS86.jpg?fit=1200%2C813&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/0MAVDWrk5TiZiw6PzrqdS86.jpg?fit=1200%2C813&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/0MAVDWrk5TiZiw6PzrqdS86.jpg?fit=1200%2C813&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/0MAVDWrk5TiZiw6PzrqdS86.jpg?fit=1200%2C813&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/0MAVDWrk5TiZiw6PzrqdS86.jpg?fit=1200%2C813&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":212626,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=212626","url_meta":{"origin":270728,"position":1},"title":"Study: \u201cOver half of known human pathogenic diseases can be aggravated by climate change\u201d","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"09\/08\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Frankly I don\u2019t think such studies are credible. 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