Llamas may hold the key to an effective coronavirus treatment

Llamas: They're more than just the cuddly creatures that inspired everything T.J. Maxx sells.

These squishable-when-they're-not-spitting camelids hold antibodies that could be the key to treating COVID-19, scientists suggested in a study published Tuesday in the journal Cell. Llamas' antibodies are known for their ability to neutralize viruses, and when tested against the new coronavirus, proved effective in doing so once again, the study says.

While humans produce just one set of antibodies when they get sick, llamas make two: one that's around the size of human antibodies, and one that's much smaller. Those smaller antibodies are usually better at accessing the tiny holes in viruses' spike proteins and eradicating them, The New York Times describes.

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So scientists turned to a dark brown llama named Winter, who lives in Belgium and was used to develop treatments for the SARS and MERS viruses back when she was nine months old. Winter, now 4 years old, was injected with spike proteins from the new coronavirus. After six weeks, scientists took a blood sample from Winter, and found that her antibodies appeared to neutralize COVID-19 — a first for any living creature.

Scientists now suggest linking two tiny llama antibodies together and safely distributing them to humans could be an effective way of treating coronavirus and mitigating its devastating effects. Find the whole study here.