New Scientist 28Mar2020

The leader

A strange new world

The new coronavirus may be upending our lives, but we aren't helpless against it

HARDtimeslieahead.Notonlydowe

all have to contend with the thn!at of

covid-19 itself, and its economic fallout,

but as nations lock down movement

outside our homes, there are extra

mental pressures to cope with too.

Fortunately. there are conatructive

things we can do. OW' individual

actions am slow the spread of the

virus. We can help ourne:ighbours

to get through this. We can reach out

electronically to support others. Such

actions may help us develop a new' sense

oftogethemess, and that will help.

There is something else, though, that

wecandotoimprovebothourphysical

and mental. resilience: exercise.As we

report on page44,. een:iseill a sure-fire

route to a stronger immune system.

Thisisn'tyourtypicalwell-being

a.dvice, issued alongside adjuncts to eat

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andsleepwell. Thisisgroundedinthe

cutting-edge science behind the idea

that our immune system bas an age that

doesn't necessarily match our body's

count in years. As we discuss, exercise

ls just one part of what we can do to

reduceourimmuneageandstrengthen

our body's defences against disease.

•Exercise Is Just one part

of what we can do to

strengthen our body's

defenms against disease"

Elsewhere In this Issue, we look at

the race to Identify and test drugs that

might treat covid-19 (page 8). Caution

is needed: many celebratory reports

and announcements are premature,

and we are still without a drug that

am belpthosewhoareseriouslyill

NewScientist

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We also analyse the scientific

advice that informed the UK

govemment'scoronavhusstrategy

(pageg), which until Monday night

was notably different from the line

many other countries were taking,

and report on studies showing that

the virus causes negligible symptoms

inmanyofthosewhohaveit.

Strangely, infectiowmess seems to

peakbeforetheonsetofnoticeable

symptoms (page to).

In the longer term, the question of

immunity is going to be a central one

(page10).Willwebeimmunetothe

covid-19 virus lfwe get and recover

from the illness or are we looking at

wave after wave of infection? Despite

thehugeamountofsdenceunderway,

there are many questions still in w:gent

needofanswers. I

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