Take a closer look at the coronavirus that causes covid-19, courtesy of new research published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday. These images depicting coronaviruses and masses infecting human hidden cells are not just for show – they can only give a clue as to why Covid-19 can be destructive in our bodies.
Camille Ehre, a pediatric pulmonologist and lung researcher at the University of North Carolina, and her team created the photo opportunity to understand how the coronavirus interacts with the lung airway on infection, as well as how these infected cells will behave when abducted. Virus. They used epithelial or surface cells of the airways, such as lung trees, were taken from transplanted lungs and grown in the lab. They then exposed the cells to cytoplasm, officially dubbed SARS-Co-2, and let nature take it from there. All of the infection experiments were carried out in the BIOSFT Level 3 lab, which is reserved for studying some of the world’s most dangerous microorganisms.
A virus is essentially a small package of proteins and genetic material (like DNA or RNA, SARS-CoV-2) in which living cells are broken down and hijacked. They then force these infected cells to produce and send more copies of themselves into the world, restarting the process. In general, this process eventually leads to cell death. The virus is so dependent on other organisms that there is a heated debate among scientists as to whether it should still be considered a living thing.
The images above and below show the individual complete complete copies of the virus, called the virus, which moves freely around the airway cell for hours after infection. They were taken under a scanning electron microscope (SEM), which is required to look at incredibly small objects like viruses. The ball-looking objects are SARS-Cavi-2, while the bandy churro-looking formations are cilia cells, hair-like projections that clear the rhythm of debris, saliva, and microbes that we normally breathe. Ehre discovered that SARS-COV-2 was particularly fond of infecting these ciliated cells, and once that was done, he went to the city to make himself more.
An image of the SARS-COV-2 virus infecting the cells lining the airways of our lungs. This image is at 100 nanometers, or 10 times closer than the top image. Image: Camille Ehre / The New England Journal of Medicine © 2020
“When we looked at these infected cultures under the SEM microscope, there was a surprising observation of viruses produced by a fairly infectious cell,” Ehre said over email. “Some of these infected cells were so implanted in the brain by the virus that they took off and separated from the epithelium, giving the impression that they would explode.”
High levels of SARS-Cavi-2 (3 to 1 ratio in the study) produced by airway cells help to properly explain why coronaviruses can affect different parts of the body nearby, such as the lining of our nasal cavity, which, according to Ehre, Is crucial to the spirit.
“There is a huge viral load available to spread and infect the olfactory epithelium in an infected person, it explains the general symptom of odor loss, and also infects the salivary glands, which will explain the symptom of dry mouth.” “Worst of all is when the virus enters the lungs and causes pneumonia which causes difficulty in breathing and eventually leads to death.”
Such findings are important to fill in the part of the scientific puzzle that is SARS-CV-2 and Covid-19. But for the average person, they will give more motivation to protect themselves and others from infection as much as possible.
“These images of SARS-CoV-2 infected cultures show jam-packed cells freeing large clusters of virus particles, and a strong case for the use of masks by infected and non-infected individuals to limit SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Said.
Personally, the last thing I want is to make my lungs above the dirty looking cotton balls from hell.
Featured Image: Camille Ehre / New England Journal of Medicine © 2020
