Debbie Moon

Long Covid is the persistence of symptoms after having COVID-19. It seems to affect both severe COVID-19 patients as well as people who had mild cases. Fatigue, brain fog, and breathing issues are the most common symptoms, but the list of associated problems is varied and long.

This article digs into current research on long Covid. I’ll explain the theories on the underlying causes and then review some treatments being researched. Finally, I’ll include some genetic variants that tie into possible root causes of long Covid.

Before we begin, I want to explain that I’m going to use the term long Covid to keep it simple. Other names for this syndrome include long-haul COVID-19, chronic Covid, and Post-acute sequelae of COVID (PASC).

Read the full article:



Our immune system’s response varies over the course of 24-hours. At certain times, we may be more resilient to fighting off viruses; at other times of the day, we may be more susceptible to pathogens.

Shift work, jet lag, late-night screen time, burning the candles at both ends….are examples of how easy it is to upset our built-in clocks.

This article covers the background information on how your circadian rhythm and timing is important in your body’s immune response in general — and the response to viruses such as COVID-19 and the flu.

Check out the full article on circadian rhythm and immune response



Tasting wine — or food — combines the sensory input of all the different taste receptors at the same time.

You can have different molecules binding to several bitter receptors, activating the sour sense, and also binding to a couple of sweet receptors — all within that same swig of wine.

The taste receptor genes are highly polymorphic — there are lots of common genetic variants that affect the function of the receptor.

All these mix together to create unique individual abilities to taste wines differently.

And, as it turns out, my taste receptor gene variants put me squarely in the ‘this wine tastes like… umm… wine’ category. Sorry, wine aficionados.

How do your genetic variants influence your taste?