In this 58th in a series of live discussions with Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying (both PhDs in Biology), we discuss the state of the world through an evolutionary lens. In this episode, we discuss the COVID-19 vaccines, and what questions you would want to answer in order to understand them: Are they safe? Are they effective? If you survive COVID-19, what are the long-term health effects? We discuss what an mRNA vaccine is and does, and how the immune system functions (and fails to function). We also talk about what makes flies sexy. The answer may surprise you: big long wings, and a diet of tomatoes. DarkHorse merchandise now available at: store.darkhorsepodcast.org Find more from us on Bret’s website (https://bretweinstein.net) or Heather’s website (http://heatherheying.com). Become a member of the DarkHorse LiveStreams, and get access to an additional Q&A livestream every month. Join at Heather's Patreon. Like this content? Subscribe to the channel, like this video, follow us on twitter (@BretWeinstein, @HeatherEHeying), and consider helping us out by contributing to either of our Patreons or Bret’s Paypal. Looking for clips from #DarkHorseLivestreams? Here are some, updated frequently: @DarkHorse Podcast Clips Theme Music: Thank you to Martin Molin of Wintergatan for providing us the rights to use their excellent music. Q&A Link: https://youtu.be/AXM7qmMStUU Mentioned in this episode: Do the benefits (of the vaccine) outweigh any risks? Those in charge in Great Britain say yes: https://twitter.com/BBCNews/status/1334084332500226049 Pardi, N., Hogan, M.J., Porter, F.W. and Weissman, D., 2018. mRNA vaccines—a new era in vaccinology. Nature reviews Drug discovery, 17(4), p.261. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5906799/ Reichmuth, A.M., Oberli, M.A., Jaklenec, A., Langer, R. and Blankschtein, D., 2016. mRNA vaccine delivery using lipid nanoparticles. Therapeutic delivery, 7(5), pp.319-334. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5439223/ Sahin, U., Karikó, K. and Türeci, Ö., 2014. mRNA-based therapeutics—developing a new class of drugs. Nature reviews Drug discovery, 13(10), pp.759-780. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25233993/ Trajković, J., Pavković-Lučić, S., Miličić, D. and Savić, T., Different diets can affect attractiveness of Drosophila melanogaster males via changes in wing morphology. Animal Behaviour, 171, pp.51-62. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003347220303274 Timestamps: 00:00 Introduction to “our Jewish friends” https://teespring.com/es/stores/dark-horse-podcast 04:49 Bret’s new demonetization drink 07:06 Bret being driven crazy by vaccines, COVID, and censorship 08:42 BBC “debunks” vaccine fears https://www.bbc.com/news/54893437 https://twitter.com/BBCNews/status/1334084332500226049 16:05 Engineering approach to understanding bodily harm 19:36 Spectacular success of developing these vaccines 20:41 We don’t know the long-term consequence of these vaccines 32:30 mRNA vaccine delivery using lipid nanoparticles https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5439223/ 38:30 3 concerns about mRNA vaccines https://www.amazon.com/Tyranny-Metrics-Jerry-Z-Muller/dp/0691174954 45:16 Immune system description 48:59 Salamander story 57:32 Potential long-term hazards of COVID vaccines Bell’s Palsy - https://www.fda.gov/media/144245/download 01:04:20 How media reports adverse reactions https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/covid-vaccine-bells-palsy/ https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/11/cdc-monitors-for-bells-palsy-among-pfizer-vaccine-recipients-sees-no-causal-relationship.html 01:08:51 Public health level analysis vs. individual health level analysis 01:17:36 The sexiest flies https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003347220303274 01:25:38 Wrap up