This is how the Corona virus penetrates brain cells

The New York Times published a video clip showing the moment the new Corona virus penetrated the brain cells of a bat.

The newspaper pointed out that the video showed the virus infiltrating the brain cells “aggressively”, as it described it.

Watch how the coronavirus nefariously infiltrates the cells of a bat brain in this video, taken by Sophie-Marie Aicher and Delphine Planas, which received an honorable mention at the 2021 Nikon Small World in Motion Competition. https://t.co/pM8Rsp6Hxe pic.twitter.com/e9AqcdouPK

- The New York Times (@timestimes) August 22

The American newspaper pointed out that the video clip was recorded by Sophie Marie Eicher and Delphine Planas, who were highly praised during their participation in the "Nikon International Small World Competition", for photography through a light microscope.

According to the newspaper, the clip was filmed over a 48-hour period with an image recorded every 10 minutes, as the footage shows the coronavirus in the form of red spots spread among a mass of gray dots - bat brain cells. After these cells become infected, the bat cells begin to fuse with neighboring cells. At some point, the entire mass ruptures, leading to cell death.

The clip reveals how a pathogen transforms cells into virus-making factories before causing the host cell to die.

Eicher, one of the participants in the photography, who specializes in zoonoses, especially those that can be transmitted from animals to humans, said that the same scenario that occurs in bats also occurs in humans, with one important difference being that “bats in the end do not get sick.” .

In humans, the coronavirus can evade and do more damage in part by preventing infected cells from alerting the immune system to the presence of an invader. But its particular strength lies in its ability to force host cells to merge with neighboring cells, a process known as syncytia that allows the coronavirus to remain undetected as it multiplies.

"Every time the virus has to exit the cell, it's in danger of being detected, so if it can go directly from one cell to another, it can work faster," Eicher added.

She said she hopes that the video will help demystify the virus, and facilitate the understanding and appreciation of this deceptive enemy that has turned the lives of billions of people upside down.

The Corona virus has caused the death of 4,423,173 people in the world since the World Health Organization office in China reported the emergence of the disease at the end of December 2019.