/oss/taxonomy/term/4531/all en /oss/article/covid-19-health-and-nutrition/antivirals-are-coming <p>I continue to be amazed by science. The ability to predict to the second when an eclipse will occur at a specific location in the world, the know-how to build a jetliner that requires the cohesive working of over four million parts and the production of computers with all their marvellous functions are astounding examples of human ingenuity. To say nothing about reaching into your pocket for the smartphone that in a fraction of a second will provide an answer to almost any question you may have. Mind-boggling.</p> Fri, 12 Nov 2021 21:02:21 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8921 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-health-general-science/how-antivirals-create-paper-jams-stop-viruses-their-tracks <p>Here’s a counterintuitive fact: an antiviral drug does not kill a virus. The real virus killers are the virucides, like alcohol and bleach, that tear the virus apart. It’s all in the name, with “-cide” meaning “killer”, like in genocide and homicide. But scrutinizing words too much may lead us to think that antivirals are simply out protesting in the streets that “viruses = death.” The coronavirus pandemic has forced exotic names like remdesivir and lopinavir to form on our lips, antivirals that may, we are told, help us fight our invisible enemy.</p> Fri, 15 May 2020 18:27:45 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8248 at /oss