If we are to take steps to avoid the spread of the corona-virus, it might help if we understood what it is. So, let’s take a moment for a quick Microbiology overview, courtesy of my Heriot Watt textbooks and my advanced Microbiology course.

There are two cellular life constructs in our world, namely eukaryotic and prokaryotic. The cells in the human body are of the eukaryotic construct. For here and now, suffice it to say that Eukaryotic cells are complex in design.

Prokaryotic cells are otherwise known as bacteria. Remember that nasty, hacking cough you had last winter? That was likely a variant of pneumono-coccal bacteria. Prokaryotes are about 1/10th the size of eukaryotes and are far less complex in design.What is important to know is that a bacteria cell has a membrane layer made up of protein and lipids (fat). Different bacteria have different proteins in the membrane layer.

Prokaryotic cells have an enemy and that enemy is called a virus molecule – an infectious agent of destruction. Viruses are not cellular organisms at all, but rather complex molecules that take over and dominate the bacterial cells they attack in order to replicate and stay alive. In terms of size, a virus is 1/10th the size of a bacteria cell. A virus particle consists of a core of nucleic acid enclosed by a coat of protein which in turn is surrounded by a layer of protein and lipid (fat). The proteins in the virus structure
contain the same amino acids as are found in human body cells and in bacterial cells. Certain viruses have an appetite for certain protein structures in certain bacterial cells. The scientific community is engaged in an on-going effort to better understand this.Scientists at UCLA – San Francisco have isolated some 22 proteins that they feel are most attractive to the coronavirus. As of March 23, a series of already approved drugs (for various other medical conditions) have been identified that have strong potential to make these 22 proteins otherwise un-attractive to the
coronavirus. Samples of virus along with samples of these drugs have now been sent to 3 Universities for fast-tracked testing.

When a virus enters the human body (breathing in, touching your eyes, nose, face etc…) it immediately seeks out its favorite type of bacterial cell to attach its tail to. Once firmly attached, it forces its tail through the bacterial cell’s cytoplasmic membrane. Think of the virus as a syringe poking itself into a target. The nucleic acid from the virus then flows into the bacterial cell. With injection complete, the internal machinery of the bacterial cell stops, gets re-programmed and immediately re-starts, this time
producing DNA material necessary for virus molecule re-production. After sufficient re-production of more virus molecules, the bacterial cell next generates a lysozyme type protein which ruptures the bacterial cell.The rupture spews viral molecules in every direction. These molecules seek out more bacterial cells and the entire process repeats.

The generation of viral material leads to rapid accumulation of what is termed a plaque (or biofilm). We all have experience with biofilm. That plaque your dental hygieneist scrapes off your teeth is a biofilm.

Imagine now if a virus molecule entered the human body and found some bacterial cells in the lungs, perhaps lingering from a cold you had earlier this year. Or perhaps you have a pre-existing lung condition where you are prone to bacterial mucous buildup in your respiratory system. Now imagine formation of a resilient plaque in your lungs. Breathing now becomes labored and your risk of death rises significantly.

Imagine too if a virus molecule finds some suitable bacterial cells in your digestive tract. The net result is a severe upset of your gut activity and you feel nausea or worse. Perhaps this explains the mad rush to hoard toilet paper?

In any eco-system (and yes, Earth is a giant eco-system), the weak will often perish and the strong will survive. Not everyone is getting afflicted with Covid-19, because there are some of us who do not have the requisite amounts of the right type of bacterial cells in our system that the virus desires. Even if we do, our immune response is likely robust enough to ward off the viral invaders.Those are the strong. Conversely, there are many of us who are aged, and who carry the necessary bacterial cells sought by the viral molecules. Those are the weak.No doubt, the Italian situation will be studied intensively. Do some cultures of people have a
genetic propensity to harbor the necessary bacterial cells that this virus seeks?

The best thing you can do here and now is to minimize your contact with others (social distancing) and specifically avoid contact with those who fit the profile of being weak and at risk. This viral outbreak will pass soon. But, it will not cease to exist. It will remain viable in our eco-system and it will re-appear in late 2020 when flu season makes its return. In the meantime, the best we can all do is to take steps to improve our gut health by eating foods with a robust probiotic profile ( yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi, goldenseal tea, barberry bark tea etc…). We can also reduce our intake of junk foods and foods containing high fructose corn syrup so that we give our bodies ample chance to develop a strong immuno-response mechanism.At my house we are eating cinnamon powder on toast. One seldom talked about story from the 1918 flu pandemic was that of a cinnamon processing factory in the US mid-west. In the surrounding community, hundreds were getting ill. But, no employee at the cinnamon factory took ill. Another anti-viral and anti-bacterial is the Indian spice called tumeric. If you can, sprinkle some on your food. Better yet,
make yourself some curry. The exact mechanism for cinnamon or tumeric to act as anti-fungal agents is not well understood by science.

There is no secret that this virus originated in Wuhan, China. The Feb 2017 edition of Nature magazine clearly spells out Chinese efforts at building highly secret labs to play with viruses all in response to reported American efforts to build similar labs. Whether Covid-19 came from bats or from a fish market, I could care less. Mankind must stop meddling with viruses that can eradicate all of us.I doubt the virus was purposely released by the lab in Wuhan, but given the tense trade wars going on between China and America, nothing would surprise me. China has every intention of surpassing America as the sole global superpower. To what lengths a rogue agent would go to help his country attain that goal remains open for debate.

This viral outbreak has also laid bare the shortcomings of the North American (and arguably the World) health care system. If there is one positive thing to maybe come from all of this , it is might be the need for countries to spend less money on stupid foreign policy mis-adventures in the Middle East and more money on ensuring health care systems are fully equipped to respond to a critical event. Maybe too we will learn to stop playing with viruses in laboratories. The human animal is not as smart and as invincible as it thinks it is. Viruses are smarter.

In my most recent Workshop, I offered up samples of two Whiskies to hammer home a critical point. The point I was making was that a ferment generates an entire spectrum of alcohol type molecules with 2,3,4,5,6 and more Carbon atoms in their structures. By far, the most predominant molecule produced in a ferment is ethanol (C2H5OH). During distillation, the more vaporization and condensation that occurs, the more these various molecules will be separated from each other. Still internal surface area is directly related to the propensity for vaporization and condensation ( a.k.a “reflux”). In a column still with plenty of internal surface area, the distillate emerging from the still will be heavily comprised of ethanol. The other spectrum members will not emerge from the still. In a pot still with lesser internal surface area the distillate coming off the still will be comprised of ethanol and several other higher molecular weight constituents. The pot still distillate will thus have more texture, body and mouthfeel than the column distillate. In your travels, if you can find some Hudson Manhattan Rye Whisky, it will be a shining example of what a 4 year old pot distilled product tastes like. Conversely, if you can find something like a Bearface Canadian Whisky, it exemplifies what a column product tastes like. I am not at all suggesting that column Whisky is bad. There is a consumer segment for all types of Whisky. As a craft distiller, one must decide which segment of the Whisky drinking market to pursue. This, then will drive the equipment selection process.