Guest: Dr. Gerry Quinn. Is there science in spiritual cures? How the pandemic was mishandled | Ep 03

In the third episode of the CERES Podcast, the CERES team (Dr. Willie Soon, Dr. Ronan Connolly & Dr. Michael Connolly) is joined by Dr Gerry Quinn who is a microbiologist and immunologist. Dr Quinn talks about his latest research on using places of spiritual healing as potential sites for discovering new antibiotics.

Dr Quinn then joins the CERES team in discussing their latest collaborative paper with 33 other authors called “What Lessons can be Learned from the Management of the COVID-19 Pandemic?”

🔹 🔹 🔹 🔹

Chapters:
00:00 Introduction to the podcast
02:04 The search for antibiotic producing microorganisms in sites of spiritual significance.
09:50 Looking for Streptomyces in The Blessed Clay from Boho, County Fermanagh, N. Ireland.
16:35 Discussion of similar spiritual sites with common geological and cultural motifs.
18:47 Into the mystic: interpreting the spiritual and cultural context of spiritual healing sites in terms of the healing process.
21:52 Spiritual sites with similar geology.
22:58 Building on top of older traditions or continuity of healing knowledge?
25:23 The perspective of culture and spirituality in the healing process.
26:05 Prayer or placebo. The role of ritual and positive beliefs in the healing process.
29:00 Holi  Holism, healing the mind, the body and the spirit.
30:43 Healing in context. Is there one healing solution (i.e. just antibiotic) or many solutions that work in synergy or cooperation.
36:55 What lessons can be learned from the management of the Covid-19 pandemic?
41:11 The confusing media presentation of early Covid-19 reports.
43:31 Limited knowledge & breadth of government advisors.
48:58 (a) Do nothing; (b) use repurposed anti-viral compounds; or (c) new genetic type vaccines?
51:33 Were other scientists being heard?
52:50 Two paradigms of scientific approaches towards Covid-19
54:16 Main themes of the manuscript.
55:23 What papers were published during the pandemic?
58:02 Did other researchers have to tone down the language of their objections to Covid-19 policies?
1:02:07 WHO recommendations for re-purposed drugs.
1:04:00 Four main sections in the manuscript.
1:05:26 Over-reliance on mathematical models for decision making.
1:09:15 Great Barrington Declaration.
1:13:13 Seven policy recommendations.
1:16:48 What were the model-based “counterfactual scenarios”?
1:22:38 Final comments

🔹 🔹 🔹 🔹
⭐ If you want to support the work of CERES, please visit us at https://www.ceres-science.com/support-us

🔹 🔹 🔹 🔹

Relevant Links:

⭐ Part 1: Can sites of spiritual significance guide us to new sources of antibiotics?
❶ Harris and Quinn (2025) “Can the Nature of Spiritual Healing Sites Guide us Towards New Sources of Drug Discovery?”. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-025-02311-9
❷ Duddy and Quinn (2025) “Could spiritual healing sites be fertile ground for new antibiotics?“: https://www.the-microbiologist.com/features/could-spiritual-healing-sites-be-fertile-ground-for-new-antibiotics/5709.article
❸ Terra et al. (2018): https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.02458
❹ Quinn et al. (2020) “Streptomyces from traditional medicine: sources of new innovations in antibiotic discovery”: https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.001232

⭐Part 2: What lessons can be learned from the management of the COVID-19 pandemic?
❶ Quinn et al. (2025): https://doi.org/10.3389/ijph.2025.1607727
❷ Quinn et al. (2024): https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm13020334
❸ ÓhAiseadha et al. (2023): https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20075223
❹ Quinn et al. (2021) preprint: https://osf.io/preprints/osf/s9z2p