Two "Nature" published together! How much do we still don't know about the new crown?

Today, the top academic journal "Nature" published several online papers about the new crown, which attracted a lot of attention and discussion

The first paper comes from a research by a German team

It is conceivable that under normal circumstances, the human body needs to produce TGFβ molecules at the right time

However, the new crown has messed up everything

▲The serum of patients with severe COVID-19 will inhibit the function of natural killer cells in a TGFβ-dependent form (picture source: reference [1])

Research and analysis found that in the first week of infection of the new crown in severely ill patients, they will produce a large number of TGFβ molecules in their bodies

Not surprisingly, with the production of these TGFβ molecules, the human innate immune system has been severely damaged

The corresponding press release pointed out that this study revealed for the first time that natural killer cells also play an important role in the early control of the new coronavirus

If the first paper is about the mechanism and potential treatment options of the severe disease of the new crown, then the second paper is about how to better understand the new crown epidemic and prepare for other potential epidemics in the future

In this study, scientists analyzed the early COVID-19 cases and outbreak characteristics in Europe and the United States

Through model establishment and data analysis, the researchers restored the development and changes of the epidemic in different countries and regions in the early stage of the new crown epidemic

Researchers estimate that by March 2020, only 1-3 out of 100 new crown infections in Europe and the United States will be monitored by the system

In addition, researchers also found that many early cases were related to international travel

▲From the early stage of the new crown epidemic to April 2020, most of the transmission sources of European and American cases came from internal sources (picture source: reference [1])

In the discussion section of the paper, the authors pointed out that although some countries have issued social distancing orders very early, the new crown has spread locally before that

This research not only restores the early transmission information of the epidemic, points out the important role played by hidden transmissions that have not been monitored, but also brings valuable insights into the prevention and control of the epidemic

Many epidemics have the characteristics of insidious transmission, and not all countries and regions have sufficient resources for comprehensive detection and monitoring

Note: The original text has been deleted

Reference materials:

[1] Witkowski, M.

[2] Davis, JT, Chinazzi, M.
, Perra, N.
et al.
Cryptic transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and the first COVID-19 wave.
Nature (2021).
https://doi.
org/10.
1038/ s41586-021-04130-w

[3] Nature article: SARS-CoV-2 disrupts timing of immune response, Retrieved October 25, 2021, from https://