Seven things you might not know about blood

We're full of blood – around five litres, on average.

Adam Taylor, Professor and Director of the Clinical Anatomy Learning Centre, Lancaster University • conversation
May 13, 2020 • ~7 min

Tags:  anatomy  blood-cells  blood  plasma  human-body  blood-type  blood-plasma

ACE2: the molecule that helps coronavirus invade your cells

A molecule responsible for lowering our blood pressure also helps coronavirus get into our cells and replicate. And it occurs more in men than in women.

David C Gaze, Lecturer in Clinical Biochemistry, University of Westminster • conversation
May 12, 2020 • ~7 min
Tags: blood-pressure cells coronavirus severe-acute-respiratory-syndrome-sars covid-19 sars-cov2 ace2

Your genes could determine whether the coronavirus puts you in the hospital – and we're starting to unravel which ones matter

Researchers from Oregon Health and Science University found that variations in genes that code for parts of the cellular alarm system might play a role in how well people fight off COVID-19.

Reid Thompson, Assistant Professor of Radiation Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University • conversation
May 5, 2020 • ~6 min
Tags: genetics biology disease immune-system cells genes coronavirus immune-cells viruses computational-biology white-blood-cells immune t-cells covid-19 research-brief

We found and tested 47 old drugs that might treat the coronavirus: Results show promising leads and a whole new way to fight COVID-19

Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, identified nine existing drugs that show promise to treat COVID-19. The proteins they target haven't been tried before.

Nevan Krogan, Professor and Director of Quantitative Biosciences Institute & Senior Investigator at the Gladstone Institutes, University of California, San Francisco • conversation
April 30, 2020 • ~10 min
Tags: fda drugs cells rna health coronavirus viruses progesterone hydroxychloroquine drug-discovery treatments covid-19 sars-cov-2 anti-virals

A smart second skin gets all the power it needs from sweat

Lightweight, flexible materials can be used to make health-monitoring wearable devices, but powering the devices is a challenge. Using fuel cells instead of batteries could make the difference.

Wei Gao, Assistant Professor of Medical Engineering, California Institute of Technology • conversation
April 22, 2020 • ~4 min
Tags: carbon-nanotubes biofuel prosthetics health robots nanotubes fuel-cells nanomaterials biomedical-devices wearables research-brief

Peanut allergy may start in the gut – opening up new ways to tackle it

Evidence from a new study could help scientists develop drugs to neutralise the 'allergic antibodies' that cause anaphylaxis.

Rachael Rigby, Senior Lecturer in Gastro-Intestinal Health, Lancaster University • conversation
April 1, 2020 • ~6 min

Tags:  antibodies  gut-bacteria  peanuts  allergy  peanut-allergy  anaphylaxis  gut-microbes  b-cells

Older people are at more risk from COVID-19 because of how the immune system ages

Different demographics are more or less vulnerable to serious complications from the coronavirus. A virologist explains the aging-related changes in how immune systems work that are to blame.

Brian Geiss, Associate Professor of Microbiology, Immunology & Pathology, Colorado State University • conversation
March 19, 2020 • ~7 min

Tags:  immunity  immune-system  immunology  aging  coronavirus  adaptive-immune-response  innate-immune-response  immune-response  white-blood-cells  t-cells  t-cell  new-coronavirus  coronavirus-2020  covid-19  sars-cov-2

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