For this week's campus update we look to groundbreaking research being done by the university of alberta that could help in future variants, or the next pandemic. 

The research that was recently published is centered around an anti viral drug called remdesivir.

Matthias Gotte, the professor and chair of the department of medical microbiology and immunology noted that it all comes down to how well the drug tricks the polymerase, which in viruses is the engine that is responsible for replication. 

Previously researchers did not understand why the drug worked on some viruses and not others. 

The next step now will be more modification by researchers to the compound to better accept the polymerase for covid but also other viruses.

The drug has been shown in clinical trials to cut the risk of hospitalisation by 87% when given early on. 

 This news is exciting and will develop in the next couple of months to a year, stay tuned for more updates. For cjsr this is Jarret Kamm