New research shows that pain relief from coronavirus may explain large asymptomatic crowd - The Daily Wildcat
Ohhhhh no.
On the one hand, WHOA THAT’S COOL. I love medical studies on pain.
On the other hand, OH SHIT THAT’S BAD.
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“Normally, when a protein named vascular endothelial growth factor-A binds to the neuropilin receptor, a cascade pathway that leads to the feeling of pain ensues. However, the binding of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to this receptor leads to a reversal of the typical pathway, causing the inability to feel pain.
In other words, the asymptomatic carriers of the coronavirus will not be able to feel pain, thus leading to a lack of visible symptoms, such as a fever, cough or sore throat, that people associate with a COVID-19 experience.
Khanna has been studying those ion channels – specifically voltage-gated calcium and sodium channels – and the proteins and signaling pathways that activate them for more than 15 years, according to the press release.”
That is…very interesting. And pretty scary. And potentially really cool to explore in fiction, the idea of pain relief via deliberate infection with a GMO virus.
(via seananmcguire)
