Why there's a big gap in research around coronaviruses and how a new Laurier finding will help

Researchers at Wilfrid Laurier University say they've made a discovery that will help scientists around the globe better understand the coronavirus.

Stephanie DeWitte-Orr is a virologist and an associate professor of Health Sciences and Biology. She says it's been difficult for researchers to grow cells with coronavirusin the lab because they quickly lose interferon, or the ability for the cells to protect itself.

But she says they recently found human lung cells that can live for longer and reflect more accurately what cells are doing in the human body.

DeWitte-Orr says the finding is important because before the COVID-19 pandemic, not many people were studying them.

"Coronaviruses are relatively understudied human viruses," she said in an interview on CBC K-W's The Morning Edition.

"There's a huge gap in knowledge about coronaviruses, so if we want to design the best vaccines, the best antiviral drugs and the best public health policies, we need to learn more about coronaviruses," she said.

Finding the cells that more closely reflect what is in the human body will help them do that, she said.

What's next

DeWitte-Orrsays moving forward, scientists will need to better understand how long the vaccines will be effective before another booster shot is needed.

She also asks the public to understand this is the way scientific research works that things evolve and change as they learn more.

"The public needs to know thatit's OKthat we don't know every answer right now and that as scientists we're working all the time to try to learn more about what's happening with a coronavirus and the need to protect the population," she said.

"Every scientist, every virologist in Canada, is working on this problem if they can. But we're just at the beginning of our understanding. So with growing understanding of the virus and how our bodies respond to the virus, there's going to be new advances. And these advances will change the narrative you're hearing."

Listen to the full interview: