This might be a huge breakthrough when it comes to the pandemic!
The pandemic changed the world and everyone’s lives when it hit in 2020. And still, COVID-19 affects people around the globe. Especially the vulnerable groups in our society. But now, scientists in British Columbia might have found a way to stop the spread of the Coronavirus.
Research
Researchers at the University of British Colombia spent their days testing over 350 plants, fungi and sponges from around the world. All to find new methods of treatment for the COVID variants. And eventually, they were successful. Jimena Pérez-Vargas, UBC department of microbiology and immunology research associate, said that three of those species prevented an infection in the human lung cells they studied. He told Global News: “These compounds block a tool in the cell that the virus needs to replicate.” This means that compounds made from these plants, fungi or sponges, could make it so that COVID might not be able to spread.
Prevent spread
The new solution would be a curative one. The researchers say that the vaccine is the preventative solution; it keeps you from getting sick. But when you do get sick, you need to stop the infection. And that is what this new treatment method would be used for. So far, the compounds were effective against several COVID variants like Delta and Omicron. The next step for the researchers would be to find a way to make the compounds in a laboratory and use them for animal testing. According to the UBC, the new treatment method is similar to the current COVID treatments when it comes to safety. This discovery might be a huge breakthrough when it comes to the treatment and spread of the Coronavirus. Pérez-Vargas told Global News: “You can fight nature with nature. I think it’s pretty cool,”.
Also read: New alternative method might mean the end of animal testing
Source: Global News | Image: Unsplash, Waldemar Brandt