An alpaca named Tyson has been instrumental in the discovery of a tiny particle that can neutralize the coronavirus.
Alpacas don’t get sick like humans do from COVID-19, but the animals do produce nanobodies – essentially fragments of antibodies – when confronted with an infection.
Swedish scientists discovered one nanobody generated by Tyson in response to COVID-19 that has potential to be used for treatment.
This nanobody appeared to quickly and efficiently neutralize novel coronaviruses.
They’ve named the nanobody ty1, in honor of Tyson’s contribution.
And testing will now begin to see if it is viable to be used in anti-viral treatments for COVID-19.