Solving COVID: June 10, 2020

1. Gene-editing technique used to fight influenza could 'neutralize' coronavirus

A gene-editing technique could "scramble" COVID-19's genetic code and stop it from growing. A bioengineering team at Stanford University has been researching how to use the CRISPR gene-editing tool to fight influenza, calling their technique "PAC-MAN." It sends a virus-killing enzyme into a virus' RNA — DNA's instructional messenger — that in turn tells the enzyme to attack the virus' genetic material. The novel coronavirus, with no clear cure or treatment, presented a new potential application for PAC-MAN. "By scrambling the virus' genetic code, PAC-MAN could neutralize the coronavirus and stop it from replicating inside cells," Science Daily writes. The lab is using synthetic molecules called lipitoids to deliver therapies to cells. After a first test, the lipitoids "performed very well" at delivering the gene-scrambling treatment. The method "could enable a very powerful strategy for fighting viral disease not only against COVID-19 but possibly against newly viral strains with pandemic potential," says Michael Connolly, a principal scientific engineering associate in the Biological Nanostructures Facility at Berkeley Lab's Molecular Foundry.

Science Daily Cell

2. New studies shed light on why COVID-19 is worse for men

A much higher proportion of men than women get seriously ill and die from COVID-19. Researchers think they know one possible reason: "Androgens — male hormones such as testosterone — appear to boost the virus' ability to get inside cells," Science Magazine reports. Two small studies from Spain have also found a correlation between COVID-19 hospitalizations and male-pattern baldness, linked to the powerful androgen dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Researchers in Italy and New York examined prostate cancer patients and found that those on androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT), which sharply reduces the amount of testosterone, were much less likely to contract COVID-19 or be hospitalized with the disease than prostate cancer patients not on ADT. Matthew Rettig, an oncologist at UCLA, has already started a double-blind trial giving 200 U.S. veterans hospitalized with COVID-19 either the androgen-suppressing drug degarelix or a placebo, to see if zeroing out testosterone will improve their prognoses. Side effects of the drug "are equivalent to surgical castration," including hot flashes and breast growth, Rettig says, but "this study only involves a one-time dosage. It's temporary." He hopes to have results in 4-5 months.

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Science Magazine

3. Research group uses smartphone data to see if COVID-19 policies are working

Tech companies are trying to help public health officials track the spread of the novel coronavirus. While Apple and Google's contact tracing collaboration requires buy-in from cellphone users, an independent group of researchers created the COVID-19 Mobility Data Network to watch how people are behaving on a larger scale using anonymized data from Facebook and online advertising and analytics firms. The researchers use the data to help public health officials form and calibrate their COVID-19 mitigation measures. The network's cofounder, data scientist Andrew Schroeder, tells Stat News the tool won't replace contact tracing, but could enhance it. For example, one of the things the COVID-19 Mobility Data Network can discern is how many people in a given ZIP code, county, or city are maintaining social distance. "We've seen a pretty clear correlation between accelerated timelines to reopen in specific areas and changes in case count," Schroeder says. "If you look at Alabama, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, Ohio — all places where they changed social distancing orders at earlier stages — you now see a turnaround in the case rate," from falling at the beginning of May to rising now.

Stat News COVID-19 Mobility Data Network

4. U.K. lab aims to keep price of potential coronavirus vaccine low

Imperial College London, which will launch a combined first- and second-phase of coronavirus vaccine testing on June 15, wants to make sure its product is available at the lowest possible price in the United Kingdom and several other countries if it proves to be safe and effective, The New York Times reports. Scientists and health experts have called for any successful vaccine to be distributed at low cost, with need prioritized over profit. The vaccine Imperial College is developing is reportedly cheap and easy to manufacture, so the university is creating a "social enterprise" in partnership with the Hong Kong-based investment firm Morningside Ventures called VacEquity Global Health. The company will be for-profit, but Imperial College has promised to make the vaccine available at the lowest possible cost in the U.K. and low- and middle-income countries. It may charge more for wealthier countries like the United States or Singapore, however.

The New York Times

5. Scientists eye blood pressure drugs in COVID-19 fight

COVID-19 patients with hypertension are twice as likely to die from the illness, and are more likely to need ventilation. Up until recently, there was some nervous speculation that blood pressure drugs could actually exacerbate the illness, but an encouraging study published last week in the European Heart Journal suggests these drugs reduce mortality in patients with hypertension. The study looked at nearly 2,900 people hospitalized in February and March at Huo Shen Shan hospital in Wuhan, China, and relates specifically to COVID-19 patients with high blood pressure. Not only does the study suggest blood pressure drugs give those patients a much higher chance of surviving the coronavirus, it also means they won't have to stop taking their medication, which would add another layer of general risk. There's also talk of these drugs being studied as a treatment for COVID-19 for the larger population, especially as there's growing evidence COVID-19 may be a vascular disease, rather than a respiratory one.

CNBC