By a Biomedical Scientist

“Contrary to what most people believe, there are no pathogenic viruses. The claims about the existence of viruses and viral diseases are based on historical misinterpretation.” – Dr. Stefan Lanka, PhD

The Tangled Web of Extracellular Vesicles, Exosomes, and Viruses

Virologists may be mistaking normal and often beneficial constituents of our cells for disease-causing viruses.

Cells release extracellular membrane vesicles that are 50- to 100-nm- sized lipid bilayer-enclosed structures containing proteins and RNA. Not long ago these were dismissed as “garbage” or “cellular dust” and did not get much attention.

Recently though these extracellular vesicles (EVs) have been shown to have important biological functions and both structurally and functionally they are suspiciously like “viruses”. Some EVs contain “viral” proteins and parts of “viral” genetic material. In fact, some scientists admit that it is almost impossible to distinguish EVs from viruses and it’s impossible to physically separate them in the lab.

In an identical way to “viral” biogenesis, some of these vesicles are produced inside cells and when they are released from the cell are called “exosomes,” whereas others pinch off from the cell membrane and are generally referred to as “microvesicles”. The general term EVs is used to refer to any membrane vesicle of a type that is released extracellularly.

EVs vary widely in size, structure and biogenesis, causing confusion amongst some scientists because different studies deal with different structures but call them by the same name. This diversity of EVs may also account for the large variety of roles attributed to them in normal cell function and in disease.

Virologists claim that EVs are fundamentally different to viruses because EVs do not replicate. Replication used to be part of the definition of a “virus” but modern virologists have distanced themselves from this strict definition of a virus by introducing the terms “non-infectious” and “defective” virus.

“Unless more specifically defined, it is currently virtually impossible to specifically separate and identify EVs that carry viral proteins, host proteins, and viral genomic elements from enveloped viral particles that carry the same molecules. Nevertheless, high-throughput methods to analyse individual nano-sized particles may facilitate discrimination of different particles in the EV–virus continuum in the future.”

Esther Nolte-‘t Hoena, Tom Cremera, Robert C. Gallob, and Leonid B. Margolisc (Extracellular vesicles and viruses: Are they close relatives?)

Essentially this is an admission that currently virologists cannot separate viruses from EVs but they hope to have the technology to do so “in the future”. This calls into question the whole field of virology up to this point in time.

There are many ways in which EVs resemble “viruses”. The majority of EVs are <300 nm in size which just so happens to be the size of a typical RNA virus. EVs are surrounded by a lipid membrane that contains cell membrane proteins which is just like an “enveloped virus”. EVs and many “viruses” are formed in the endosomal system or at the plasma membrane in exactly the same way. EVs and “viruses” both bind to the membranes of other cells, enter them by fusion or endocytosis, and trigger specific reactions in those cells. EVs and “viruses” both carry genetic material which can alter cellular functions in recipient cells.

Clearly the difference between EVs and viruses is rather blurred:

“In this Perspective, we suggest that in retrovirus infections a variety of diverse vesicles is released, such that on one extreme there are EVs consisting entirely of host cell components and on the other replication-capable viruses. In between these extremes are nonreplicating particles that can be considered both as defective viruses and as EVs containing various amounts of virus-specific molecules. Obviously, unlike true viruses, EVs that contain viral proteins and fragments of viral genomes do not cause outbreaks and epidemics.”

Esther Nolte-‘t Hoena, Tom Cremera, Robert C. Gallob, and Leonid B. Margolisc (Extracellular vesicles and viruses: Are they close relatives?)

The big unanswered and unasked question is; do “viruses” really cause outbreaks and epidemics? There is a surprising lack of evidence for transmissibility and virulence regarding presumed viral diseases.

Some scientists claim that EV activity is restricted to activity within the same organism whereas a characteristic feature of “viruses” transfers between organisms. The presence of EVs in semen and mothers milk suggests that positive functional transfer between organisms is likely.

The Virome is our Friend

Most people know that we have billions of bacteria inside our digestive system and on our skin, but what most don’t know is that we are also host to a very large number of “viruses”. This human virome undermines the idea that viruses are disease causing pathogens:

“The gastrointestinal tracts of mammals are plush with viruses. So far, little is known about how these viruses affect their hosts, but their sheer number and diversity suggest that they have important functions.” -Marilyn Roossinck, PhD

A study published in 2017 titled “The blood DNA virome in 8,000 humans” tested for “viral” DNA sequences in the blood of over 8000 healthy people with astonishing results.

They identified 94 different known “viruses” present in the test subjects. Amazingly this included supposed viral pathogens such as HIV, hepatitis B, and the papillomavirus (warts). It’s important to note that none of these people appeared to be suffering from any infectious disease at the time.

The very existence of the human virome indicates that “viruses” are not harmful, disease-causing microbes, but are more likely misunderstood or mischaracterised, natural constituents of our biological makeup:

“We have known for a long time that people get infected all the time with viruses and bacteria, and they don’t get sick. Now we have scientific evidence that not every viral infection is bad, but may actually be beneficial to health, just as we know that many bacterial infections are good for maintaining health.” Ken Cadwell, PhD

The simplistic germ theory of disease keeps the pharmaceutical industry in business. If it were revealed that “viruses” and other microbes do not cause disease, that would mean billions lost in profits for the pharmaceutical companies that develop vaccines and other drugs.

“The word, virus, connotes morbidity and mortality, but that bad reputation is not universally deserved. Viruses, like bacteria, can be important beneficial microbes in human health and in agriculture.” -Professor Marilyn Roossinck

Healthy gut bacteria help to prevent bacterial infections that cause gastrointestinal disease but excessive antibiotic usage can kill these protective bacteria leading to gastrointestinal disease. Norovirus infection in mice restores the normal function of the immune system’s lymphocytes and the normal morphology of the intestine. This is in sharp contrast to the gastrointestinal disease we are told it causes in humans.

Immune system resistance to Listeria monocytogenes and Yersinia pestis (plague) can be induced in mice by gamma-herpesviruses. Since humans commonly carry these viruses it is conceivable that similar benefits are conferred to humans as well. Latent herpesviruses also boost natural killer cells, an important constituent of the immune system, which kill tumour cells.

The gastrointestinal tracts of humans are full of “viruses” but little is known about how these viruses affect their hosts. The sheer number and diversity of these viruses suggests that they have important functions. For example, viruses that infect bacteria (bacteriophages) might modulate expression of bacterial genes involved in digestion.

Recent research shows that these bacteriophages stick to the mucus membranes of many animals. Mucus membranes are the entry points for many bacterial pathogens, meaning that bacteriophages could be part of the first line of defence against invading harmful bacteria.

Other beneficial viruses are the retroviruses that long ago set up permanent home in the genome (according to virologists). The mammalian genes for syncitin, essential in the establishment of the placenta, are retroviral genes that were incorporated into the mammalian genome. Worryingly the spike protein sequence being used in the “covid” jabs shares sequence homology with syncitin which may have important consequences for human fertility.

“Viruses are beyond a doubt the coolest things I have ever encountered. They do truly amazing things with very little genetic information. I was always a little disturbed at the bad rap they get, so it was very exciting for me to find good ones.” -Professor Marilyn Roossinck

Viruses also provide a variety of useful functions for plants. Some viruses can render some plants drought or cold tolerant, which could become useful for expanding the ranges of crops.

The Surprising Health Benefits of Measles

Measles has been marketed as a deadly infection and apparently, the only solution to this deadly plague is widespread vaccination. Prior to measles vaccines becoming available it was widely understood to be a natural rite of passage necessary for strengthening the immune system.

The truth is that measles and other childhood illnesses probably protect against life-threatening conditions like cancer and heart disease. Over a dozen conditions appear to be mitigated through natural measles exposure. Some of these such as malaria and blood cancer are certainly far more life-threatening than measles.  

Why did measles go from not only a benign and perhaps necessary childhood experience to a supposedly deadly affliction?

The measles vaccine has been failing for many years. Measles outbreaks are evidence of a failing vaccine not a failure to vaccinate. For example, in China there are measles outbreaks in populations that have up to 99% measles vaccine uptake.

Acting in lockstep the vaccine companies, government and media all “blame the victim” instead of the failing vaccine. They blame low uptake and push more vaccinations and boosters on a mostly compliant public. Sound familiar?

A ground-breaking study published in the journal Atherosclerosis titled, “Association of measles and mumps with cardiovascular disease:  The Japan Collaborative Cohort (JACC) Study,” reveals that infection with measles and mumps (especially in the case of both infections) is associated with lower risks of mortality from atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

According to the hygiene hypothesis, suppressing natural microbial exposures with artificial ones, administered through unnatural routes like injections, along with adjuvants and biologicals to which our bodies have no precedent for exposure, would result in immunological imbalance or dysfunction. This could have a wide range of negative downstream effects, including cardiovascular disease.  

The research on the potential health benefits of natural measles is compelling. Measles is not the deadly plague we are told it is. This characterization serves corporate profits and advances health policies that endanger our bodily integrity.

The discovery of the microbiome’s crucial role in human health and disease is problematic for the simplistic germ theory and vaccine agenda. “Viruses” have played a critically important role in creating the human genome with up to 13% of our genome consisting of “viral” sequences. We are comprised of far more “germs” than actual human cells.

The logic of germs being external lethal enemies that we must guard against is unsustainable and intellectually bankrupt, because we are more germ than we are human and that includes “viruses”. We really need to talk about the virome.

References

1) Hoen, E. et al. Extracellular vesicles and viruses: Are they close relatives?. June 27, 2016. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4995926/.

2) Cadwell, K., The virome in host health and disease. May 19, 2016. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4578625/.

3) Marilyn J. Roossinck. Move over bacteria! Viruses make their mark as mutualistic microbial symbionts. Journal of Virology, 2015; JVI.02974-14 DOI: 10.1128/JVI.02974-14

4) Moustafa, A. et al, The blood DNA virome in 8,000 humans. March 22, 2017. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28328962/.

5) Science Daily, Viruses: You’ve heard the bad; here’s the good. April 30, 2015. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/04/150430170750.htm

6) Kernbaur, E. et al, An enteric virus can replace the beneficial function of commensal bacteria. November 19, 2014. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4257755/.

7) Kubota Y et al Association of measles and mumps with cardiovascular disease: The Japan Collaborative Cohort (JACC) study 2015 Aug;241(2):682-6.atherosclerosis.2015.06.026. Epub 2015 Jun 18.

8) GreenMedInfo, Health Benefits of Measles Infection. https://www.greenmedinfo.com/keyword/health-benefits-measles-infection.