{"id":5933,"date":"2024-02-20T19:28:33","date_gmt":"2024-02-21T01:28:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/healthsecurity\/transmission\/?p=5933"},"modified":"2024-02-21T07:45:57","modified_gmt":"2024-02-21T13:45:57","slug":"bat-nightclubs-may-be-the-key-to-solving-the-next-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/healthsecurity\/transmission\/2024\/02\/20\/bat-nightclubs-may-be-the-key-to-solving-the-next-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Bat \u2018Nightclubs\u2019 May Be The Key To Solving The Next Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Texas A&M<\/a> The evolution of viral tolerance in Myotis bats may help scientists prevent future pandemics, say researchers at Texas A&M.<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bats carry some of the deadliest zoonotic diseases that can infect both humans and animals, such as Ebola and COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a\u00a0recently published<\/a>\u00a0article in the journal Cell Genomics, a Texas A&M research team revealed that some species of bats are protected against the viruses they carry because they commonly exchange immune genes during seasonal mating swarms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnderstanding how bats have evolved viral tolerance may help us learn how humans can better fight emerging diseases,\u201d said Dr. Nicole Foley, from the Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (VMBS). \u201cAs genomicists, our work often lays the groundwork for research by scientists who study virus transmission directly. They may be developing vaccines for diseases or monitoring vulnerable animal populations. We all depend on each other to stay ahead of the next pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because bats are often immune to the diseases they carry, Foley and Dr. Bill Murphy, a professor in the VMBS\u2019 Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences<\/a>, believe that studying bats\u2019 disease immunity could hold the key to preventing the next global pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecause of the COVID-19 pandemic, the prediction and prevention of outbreaks is front of mind for researchers and the public alike,\u201d Foley said. \u201cSeveral bat species are tolerant of viruses that are detrimental to human health, which means they become reservoirs for disease \u2014 they carry the viruses, but crucially they don\u2019t develop symptoms.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Secret Of Swarming Behavior<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To uncover exactly how bats have evolved tolerance to these deadly viruses, Foley, Murphy, and their international research partners mapped the evolutionary tree of Myotis bats, something they knew to be crucial in trying to identify which genes might be involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMyotis bats are the second-largest genus of mammals, with over 140 species,\u201d she said. \u201cThey\u2019re found almost all over the world and they host a large diversity of viruses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To add to the difficulties associated with figuring out relationships among species, Myotis and other bat species also engage in swarming behavior during mating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continue reading<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Texas A&M The evolution of viral tolerance in Myotis bats may help scientists prevent future pandemics, say researchers at Texas A&M. Bats carry some of the deadliest zoonotic diseases that can infect both humans and animals, such as Ebola and COVID-19. In a\u00a0recently published\u00a0article in the journal Cell Genomics, a Texas A&M research team revealed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured-headlines"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/healthsecurity\/transmission\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/healthsecurity\/transmission\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/healthsecurity\/transmission\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/healthsecurity\/transmission\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/healthsecurity\/transmission\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5933"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/healthsecurity\/transmission\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5933\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5934,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/healthsecurity\/transmission\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5933\/revisions\/5934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/healthsecurity\/transmission\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/healthsecurity\/transmission\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/healthsecurity\/transmission\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}