Human beings use their diverse skill-set to deal with every individual situation in a different way. However, despite the huge volume, we do end up relying on certain skills to act as an undertone in majority of our experiences. One such ability has been the general human creativity. Throughout the history, we have played around this creativity to deliver some massive milestones, but if we are picking the most significant of them all, it will be technology by a sizeable distance. In a way, technology does a lot to represent the potential we, as a society, tend to function within. Furthermore, the creation’s far-reaching impact mirrors our own limitless nature, and building upon the said connection, we have been able to achieve things that were somewhat unconceivable just a few years ago. Now, one fact worth mentioning here is how the extent of our success with technology is stretched across various disciplines. This reality has helped us in making our leaps more collective and meaningful. To get there in the first place, however, we had to crack the code at a granular level. Hence, the world saw its biggest branches going through some extensive transformations to become a better proponent for technology. The benefits to come out if it were instant, aiding countless facets in the process, and amongst these facets was our global healthcare setup. Technology didn’t take long to reinvent the definition of healthcare for us. In fact, since then, it has also maintained this groundbreaking momentum, which, in turn, directly translated to gazillion advanced medical by-products. Guess what? There is another one set to join the party.
The researching team at University of Pennsylvania has successfully developed a one-of-a-kind chewing gum that is purposed to neutralize the SARS-CoV-2 viral particles in the saliva. As per the reports, it works by facilitating a link-up between the gum’s ACE2 protein and the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, thus triggering an inhibition reaction and reducing any potential viral transmissions. While we do have Covid 19 vaccine at our disposal now, the emergence of new variants continues to be a concern for the medical fraternity. So far, in our attempts of controlling transmissions, we have turned to face masks and other related protective measures. UPenn’s chewing gum can potentially settle in alongside such measures and become one of the more convenient alternatives available.
When asked about the team’s latest development, one UPenn researcher, Henry Daniell said:
“SARS-CoV-2 replicates in the salivary glands, and we know that when someone who is infected sneezes, coughs, or speaks some of that virus can be expelled and reach others. This gum offers an opportunity to neutralize the virus in the saliva, giving us a simple way to possibly cut down on a source of disease transmission.”
As of now, the gum has been tested in lab conditions through Covid-19 nasopharyngeal swab samples, and the results are said to be hugely encouraging.
