Coronavirus hijacks cells in unique ways that suggest how to treat it - STAT
How CD hijacks cell- the more we learn about this virus, the scarier it gets.
This virus is made entirely of RNA. RNA is a much smaller molecule than DNA. DNA is in the nucleus of each cell, kept there by the nuclear membrane, which is like a sieve - DNA is too big to get out.
RNA (often abbreviated rNA) is DNA's tiny cousin. It is made of the same chemicals and shares the same code, but its job is to go in and out of the nucleus, transmitting information from your genes to the cell - to build the cell. This virus, therefore, can go directly into your nuclear DNA (messing with it, causing misreadings, etc). The proteins in the cell that give each cell its function are thereby messed up by the virus.
We know that it's epithelial cells in particular that are attacked by CV19. While your skin is the most obvious set of these cells, it's the ones on the inside of the lungs and in the framework of arteries and veins that are immediately and terribly effected in those people whose immune systems don't jump to the ready.
Almost every organ is encased in epithelial cells, so that's why the one woman's heart literally fell apart - its epithelium was destroyed. That's why a handful of people are getting meningitis. But the common symptom of searing pain throughout the body and the micro-bloodclots are coming from this RNA attack on the cells themselves, disabling these cells from reproducing and functioning. Epithelial cells are some of the most quickly reproducing cells in our bodies, they must be reproduced day and night. Stomach lining and intestinal/colon lining also affected, as we have heard and seen in terms of symptoms.
At any rate, rogue RNA inside our bodies is not good. RNA is central in the triggering of immune responses and clearly, CoVid RNA has the key to some locks in our immune cells that scientists are working very hard to close off to it.
There's a lot of very promising research and several different pathways to either treating CoVid much more effectively OR vaccinating us in some way.
Keep in mind that early rates of disease were heavily skewed by so many very ill people going into hospital and dying quickly before anyone knew what to do. Deaths per positive test case are dropping. That's good. I want it to get even better before I come anywhere close to living my previous life.
~2-3 people dying per 1000 of population (0.27% per capita) is not good enough for me. But if the trend continues and we get to 0.07 or so, as predicted by some who study this, I'll feel a lot safer. I'd like to see zero new cases in my county before I start daring here and there.
(I actually only go to about two places: home and work; work on campus is off the table indefinitely).
