Supercomputer Crunches Data on COVID-19
upstart writes in with an IRC submission for nutherguy:
Supercomputer crunches data on COVID-19:
A genetic study of COVID-19 patients, powered by the Summit supercomputer, may have taken us a step towards understanding how the new coronavirus causes disease.
Summit, located at the Oak Ridge National Lab in the US, analysed 40,000 genes from 17,000 samples earlier this summer in an attempt to understand the virus, AI expert Thomas Smith explained in an article on the Medium platform.
While the machine is the second-fastest computer in the world, the process required it to analyse 2.5 billion genetic combinations - a feat that took over two weeks.
Its results pointed to the fact that bradykinin, a natural chemical compound that regulates blood pressure, could explain many facets of COVID-19 and some of its symptoms.
The findings may shed light on why the virus causes vascular problems in certain patients, from strokes to inflammation of the skin or toes, as well as indicating new potential therapies to treat its worst symptoms.
[...] The researchers suggested that efforts to find a treatment for symptoms should be focussed on curbing bradykinin storms.
"Further experiments identified several existing medicinal drugs that have the potential to be re-purposed to treat the Bradykinin Storm," they wrote.
"A possible next step would be to carry out clinical trials to assess how effective these drugs are in treating patients with COVID-19.
"In addition, understanding how SARS-Cov-2 affects the body will help researchers and clinicians identify individuals who are most at risk of developing life-threatening symptoms."
Also at: Medium.com
Journal Reference:
Michael R Garvin, Christiane Alvarez, J Izaak Miller, et al. A mechanistic model and therapeutic interventions for COVID-19 involving a RAS-mediated bradykinin storm, (DOI: 10.7554/eLife.59177)
[Ed Note: Added link to related story.]
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