EurekAlert July 2, 2020
The viruses that cause COVID-19, AIDS, Ebola, and rabies – among others – all made the lethal jump from wildlife into humans. At the Australian Wild and Comparative Immunology (WACI) https://www.wacimmuno.com/ workshop researchers in Australia outline how integrating a more diverse set of species and environments could enhance the biomedical research cycle. The viruses that cause COVID-19, AIDS, Ebola, and rabies – among others – all made the lethal jump from wildlife into humans. Understanding how the immune system works in animals that live with coronaviruses in a natural environment, such as bats, can give us direction for developing treatments and vaccines to protect humans from viruses. Proactive investment in wild immunology can stimulate discoveries with real-world applications for human and veterinary medicine and conservation. It could help us prepare for the next pandemic…read more. Video Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Real-world immunology feedback cycle. Credit: V. ALTOUNIAN/SCIENCE, Science, 03 Jul 2020: Vol. 369, Issue 6499, pp. 37-38