We’re sure many are eagerly looking forward to the day when they can leave their homes and not wear a mask and not worry about getting infected by the coronavirus. That day will come once a vaccine hits the market, but in the meantime, it seems that scientists at the University of California San Francisco have come up with a temporary workaround.
This comes in the form of an inhaler or nasal spray, which releases nanobodies that can help prevent airborne viruses like the coronavirus from infecting cells. The nanobodies are synthetic versions of the nanobodies from animals like the llama and camel, where the researchers found that these nanobodies have the ability to latch onto the spike protein found in the coronavirus and neutralizes them.
These nanobodies, dubbed AeroNabs, are recommended to be used once a day where it will apparently offer up protection until a vaccine arrives. This means that this is more of a temporary solution and acts as an alternative to other protective measures like wearing a face shield or a mask.
That being said, before you get too excited at this possibility, know that the tech will need to undergo the required clinical trials and clear various regulatory hurdles before it hits the market, so it looks like wearing masks and practicing social distancing will still need to be practiced until then.
Filed in . Read more about Coronavirus, Covid-19, Health, Science and Social Hit. Source: ucsf.edu