- A new study in Stem Cell Stem shows how COVID-19 can cause diabetes and worsen existing cases. Exposure to the virus can lead to “death” of beta cells, or the pancreatic cells that produce insulin. “There has long been a hypothesis in the field that certain viral infections may trigger type 1 diabetes,” one of the authors said in a press release. “But we were able to show how this happens in the context of COVID-19 infection.”
- SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, can be destabilized by electromagnetic waves, according to a new preprint in Bioxriv. These data provide “proof-of-concept in using electromagnetic waves for sanitation and prevention efforts to curb the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and potentially other pathogenic enveloped viruses,” the authors wrote.
- Last week the National Institute of Health (NIH) announced a new pandemic preparedness network to develop vaccines and antibodies for high-priority pathogens. The NIH plans to pledge $100 million a year “pending the availability of funds” to research five virus families, including those that cause mumps, dengue, and Lassa fever. The funding does not include research for the coronavirus family, Coronaviridae.
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