Millions of people around the world have been left managing the complex and amorphous syndrome that is long COVID. But the underlying cause of this myriad of symptoms is not clear. One hypothesis is that the virus is able to find a safe haven in the body from which it can bide its time and potentially re-emerge - a viral reservoir. Now researchers studying long COVID have found evidence of SARS-CoV-2 in a series of organs around the body, most notably the gut, months after the infection appears to have been cleared from the respiratory system. While there is still a long way to go before the reservoir hypothesis can be confirmed, these data provide compelling new support for the theory. In this episode of Coronapod, we discuss how the studies were carried out, why the question of long COVID's cause is so difficult to crack, and what more needs to be done to get a firm answer.
News: Coronavirus ‘ghosts’ found lingering in the gut
Subscribe to Nature Briefing, an unmissable daily round-up of science news, opinion and analysis free in your inbox every weekday.
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Flies can move their rigid, omnidirectional eyes – a little
Racism in Health: the harms of biased medicine
Ancient DNA reveals family of Neanderthals living in Siberian cave
Human brain organoids implanted into rats could offer new way to model disease
Virtual library of LSD-like drugs could reveal new antidepressants
Nature's Take: How the war in Ukraine is impacting science
Audio long read: What scientists have learnt from COVID lockdowns
A trove of ancient fish fossils helps trace the origin of jaws
Huge dataset shows 80% of US professors come from just 20% of institutions
Complex synthetic cells bring scientists closer to artificial cellular life
Missing foot reveals world’s oldest amputation
Audio long read: Hybrid brains – the ethics of transplanting human neurons into animals
How to make water that's full of holes
Do protons have intrinsic charm? New evidence suggests yes
Nature's Take: what's next for the preprint revolution
Why low temperatures could help starve tumours of fuel
Massive Facebook study reveals a key to social mobility
Coronapod: the open-science plan to unseat big Pharma and tackle vaccine inequity
How humans adapted to digest lactose — after thousands of years of milk drinking
How researchers have pinpointed the origin of 'warm-blooded' mammals
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
More or Less: Behind the Stats
NPP BrainPod
Pediatric Research Podcast
Eye Podcast