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[sl8]

This message was self-deleted by its author (sl8) on Fri Nov 27, 2020, 12:02 PM. When the original post in a discussion thread is self-deleted, the entire discussion thread is automatically locked so new replies cannot be posted.

[still_one]

1. I would like to hear from our DU associate ferret comment on this

[underpants]

5. I was going to ask how ferrets peer review things

I guess we’ll see

[still_one]

8. +++

[Native]

2. They've applied for a patent. Looks promising.

The team would require additional funding to pursue clinical trials in humans. Dr. Anne Moscona, a pediatrician and microbiologist at Columbia and co-author of the study, said they had applied for a patent on the product, and she hoped Columbia University would approach the federal government’s Operation Warp Speed or large pharmaceutical companies that are seeking new ways to combat the coronavirus.

The spray attacks the virus directly. It contains a lipopeptide, a cholesterol particle linked to a chain of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. This particular lipopeptide exactly matches a stretch of amino acids in the spike protein of the virus, which the pathogen uses to attach to a human airway or lung cell.

Before a virus can inject its RNA into a cell, the spike must effectively unzip, exposing two chains of amino acids, in order to fuse to the cell wall. As the spike zips back up to complete the process, the lipopeptide in the spray inserts itself, latching on to one of the spike’s amino acid chains and preventing the virus from attaching.

“It is like you are zipping a zipper but you put another zipper inside, so the two sides cannot meet,” said Matteo Porotto, a microbiologist at Columbia University and one of the paper’s authors.

[onlyadream]

3. SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19

In case there was some confusion. This is great news!

[Marcuse]

4. Looks promising. What does the Ferret say?

[tanyev]

6. Great, but I'm still trying to process how to give a ferret nasal spray.

[58Sunliner]

7. I remember reading in China, people were using sesame oil in their nose to help prevent infection.