Science stories you've missed

For good reason, I have feared going out into the world over the past three and a half months. Yesterday I took three bus rides and on the second, I could have had my life put in jeopardy. I will only know if I come down with COVID-19 symptoms or get tested to find out. Here is what happened: I was on the Coastal Link bus here in Connecticut, gazing out the window, when an unstable and quite vocal disheveled character wandered on to the bus in front of Stop 'n Shop. He sat down and then got up and started to sing (badly) out the window. This immediately rattled me so I mentioned it to the driver, who called out but then ignored him. As I gazed out the window, I tried to calm my nerves, when suddenly I hear something and turn to my left. He is at my side, crazed One-Flew-Over-The-Cuckoo's-Nest-like right at my side, cackling and writhing just inches from where my nostrils can absorb someone's viral droplets. "AAAAHHHH!!!! GET AWAY! GET AWAY FROM ME!" I shrieked. ...

While pangolins can be carriers of coronavirus, they may be able to tolerate it through an unknown mechanism according to a recently published study in the journal "Frontiers in Immunology". "The transmission of pathogens from other vertebrate animals to humans is of particular concern because the resulting diseases, known as zoonoses, have caused major epidemics in the past and continue to pose enormous threats to the human population," the authors state in the journal. The article is entitled, "Pangolins Lack IFIH1/MDA5, a Cytoplasmic RNA Sensor That Initiates Innate Immune Defense Upon Coronavirus Infection." The pangolins in particular, the statement says, "lack two sensors that detect when a virus enters the body and trigger a sometimes dangerously excessive immune response in other mammals. Understanding how pangolins are able to survive coronavirus infections could help in the development of new treatment options for humans." I had t...

While scaly creatures known as pangolins can be carriers of coronavirus, they may be able to tolerate it through some other unknown mechanism according to a recently published study in the journal "Frontiers in Immunology". The news concerning these exotic animals was shared today, May 8, in a press release from Medical University of Vienna. "The transmission of pathogens from other vertebrate animals to humans is of particular concern because the resulting diseases, known as zoonoses, have caused major epidemics in the past and continue to pose enormous threats to the human population," the authors state in the journal. The pangolins in particular, the statement says, "lack two sensors that detect when a virus enters the body and trigger a sometimes dangerously excessive immune response in other mammals. Understanding how pangolins are able to survive coronavirus infections could help in the development of new treatment options for humans." Simi...