Chewing gum traps Covid virus

CHEWING gum laced with a special protein stops Covid-19 that has got into the mouth from spreading to the rest of body, reports the journal Molecular Therapy.

Scientists at Pennsylvania University fed mice gum containing angiotensin- convertingenzyme 2 (ACE2), a protein found throughout the human body. One of the ways Covid-19 gets into healthy cells is through ACE2 receptors on cells’ surfaces.

But chewing the gum released the ACE2 protein, so it locked on to the receptors itself — thus stopping any virus in the mouth from doing so.