The specimens are not contagious, Peters emphasises. “So, the research is completely safe.” The scientists, who work together with colleagues at Utrecht University and Erasmus University in Rotterdam, hope to discover how the virus adheres to the mucous cells in the mouth and nose. If you can prevent that from happening, you can prevent the virus from entering the body.
Peters is not the only Maastricht researcher working on the coronavirus and related matters. The MUMC+ announced, for example, that they have developed a method for cleaning face masks. This makes it possible to use the masks three times instead of once. The RIVM has validated the method.
Chemical biologist and assistant professor Egon Willighagen is promoting open access for new scientific articles about the coronavirus. He is contributing by sharing data and articles through media such as Twitter, using the hashtag UMAgainstSARSCoV2, which other UM researchers also use to show how they deal with the crisis.