Popp and his institute worked on a rapid antibody test

These could "probably easier to accept than it will become a major political issue in the first place."

"The corona crisis will not be forgotten"

The coronavirus, on the other hand, will not forget society, explained Wirsching: "This measure of shutting down an entire society based on the division of labor, indeed an entire global economy, within a few weeks has never been done before." The media environment is also completely different than it used to be. It puts society in one "Permanent state of excitation".

At the same time, the media performed an important task in dangerous situations like the current one: "The moment there is no transparent information, rumors flourish"said Wirsching.

Scapegoats would be constructed, like during the plague of the 14th century, when Jews were identified as guilty. "There is"said Wirsching, "Approaches to this are of course also in the current discussion. But I have the impression that we are a long way beyond that."

Audio trend: These are podcasts and you can find them here. Hear more: An overview of all podcasts from t-online.de Economics: Ursula Weidenfeld’s weekly column

The podcast "Sound track knowledge" from t-online.de and the Leibniz Association are available in all podcast apps on smartphones and tablets and on all major platforms:

"Sound track knowledge" as an RSS feed"Sound track knowledge" at Apple Podcasts"Sound track knowledge" at Spotify"Sound track knowledge" at Deezer"Sound track knowledge" at Google Podcasts"Sound track knowledge" Sources used at t-online.de:"Sound track knowledge"-Podcast: What can be learned from previous pandemics?

Reliable tests are an important prerequisite for getting the corona pandemic under control. In the podcast, expert Jürgen Popp explains what these rapid tests have to be able to do – and what problems there are.

Reliable rapid tests for corona antibodies are immensely important in order to contain the pandemic and find out who is immune to the new corona virus. Some rapid tests are already in use. But Jürgen Popp from the Leibniz Institute for Photonic Technologies in Jena says in the podcast "Sound track knowledge": "I assume that it will definitely turn out that one or the other test is not as good as one hoped." Listen to the full episode here:

"Overall, we are faced with the dilemma: Everyone calls for tests, but at the same time, of course, you want to have a one hundred percent test", Popp points out. "And the coronavirus has not been around here long enough that you can get the whole thing off the ground in no time."

Popp nevertheless assumes that "timely" reliable tests may be available – maybe even already "in the next weeks". The chemist explains in the podcast from t-online.de and the Leibniz Association: "The fact that there are now also antibody laboratory tests will enable the good and bad antibody tests to be validated very quickly."

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Germany could also reach its capacity limit

With these tests, doctors can then prove whether someone has been infected with the coronavirus before and is possibly immune. However, to determine whether someone has Covid-19, experts are still needed, says Popp: "These tests can currently only be carried out in special laboratories and are relatively expensive."

One advantage is that there are many such laboratories as well as qualified personnel in Germany. "In terms of laboratory technology, I would say, Germany is very well positioned." However, Popp warns: "Without new and simpler procedures, we will eventually reach the limits of our capacity." For example, when testing is actually to be carried out across the board.

The problem with the tests for the crowd

The requirements for corona rapid tests for use in the mass are extremely high, explains Popp: "On the one hand, they have to be inexpensive and very easy to use." In addition, they would first have to be tested on a large number of patients before approval. "This verification and validation are of course extremely time consuming and the need for very well characterized samples is necessary", he says.

Popp and his institute worked on a rapid antibody test. This works "actually like a pregnancy test"he explains: "That means, you have a cartridge, just put a drop of blood on it and after ten minutes the test result is available." This can be used to prove whether, for example, a person is already immune. However, further, more complex laboratory tests cannot yet replace this procedure.

All other podcast topics relating to the consequences of the coronavirus can be found here in the overview.

Audio trend: These are podcasts and you can find them here.Hear more: An overview of all podcasts from t-online.de.Tonspur Wissen: All topics at a glance

The podcast "Sound track knowledge" from t-online.de and the Leibniz Association are available in all podcast apps on smartphones and tablets and on all major platforms:

"Sound track knowledge" at Apple Podcasts"Sound track knowledge" at Spotify"Sound track knowledge" as an RSS feed"Sound track knowledge" at Deezer"Sound track knowledge" at Google Podcasts"Sound track knowledge" Sources used at t-online.de:"Sound track knowledge"-Podcast: How far and how good are corona tests?

A curfew is only of limited use in an epidemic, says the epidemic historian Malte Thießen – and explains in the podcast why people are blaming others for the coronavirus.

In the fight against the corona virus, it does not help to prescribe something from above, says historian Professor Malte Thießen from the Institute for Westphalian Regional History in Münster. From a historical perspective, it is also clear that restrictions such as quarantine are only of limited use, "because the virus is often much faster than the measures." Are more important "offensive education, transparency and participation"says the epidemic expert in the podcast "Sound track knowledge". Listen to the full episode here:

Thießen cites the severe polio epidemic in Germany at the beginning of the 1960s as an example of how epidemics can be successfully dealt with. The egg "offensively enlightened", but also a "low-threshold offer" the oral polio vaccination.

Explanation wanted, scapegoat found

From the point of view of the historian, people today, as in the past, want to find explanations for why a pandemic has broken out. Therefore, many interpretations about the coronavirus were circulating now, "who offer ostensible solutions that are medically unjustified, but which fit our fears and hopes"says Thießen.

So the disease is made alien by "Marginalized groups or migrants, for example, are declared scapegoats or carriers of the disease"says the expert. This is not only "medically absolutely unfounded", rather "it distracts from what you can really do yourself."

The successes of the past

But people’s worries can also be explained by the fact that "something seems to strike back that we don’t really know", says Professor Thießen: "We live in an immunized age". The health system with its vaccination programs had been successful. "The idea that infectious diseases threaten us somehow" has declined since the 1960s.

A special case is the flu that occurs every year: "Although some of the death rates are really frightening, the threats are often not that great. One could say cynically: We have learned to live with the flu dead to a certain extent."

All other podcast topics relating to the consequences of the coronavirus can be found here in the overview.

Audio trend: These are podcasts and you can find them here.Hear more: An overview of all podcasts from t-online.de.Tonspur Wissen: All topics at a glance

The podcast "Sound track knowledge" from t-online.de and the Leibniz Association are available in all podcast apps on smartphones and tablets and on all major platforms:

Scientists around the world are looking for drugs against Covid-19. Especially four are particularly in discussion. But the biologists Markus Hoffmann and Stefan Pöhlmann warn of all things against the drug that US President Donald Trump is promoting.

In the search for an active ingredient against the lung disease Covid-19, scientists are also researching with drugs that have already been approved. The biologist Stefan Pöhlmann warns in the t-online.de podcast "Sound track knowledge" but to be careful: "It will certainly take a long time before success reports can be made in the patient"says the professor from the German Primate Center in Göttingen. Listen to the full episode here:

Of the four drugs that are currently being discussed against Covid-19, Pöhlmann believes that the Ebola drug is remdesivir "most promising". But he adds: "This is a field that is constantly changing and that is constantly being replenished with new candidates".

The biologist Pöhlmann is critical of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, which US President Donald Trump in particular has recently repeatedly praised as a glimmer of hope in the fight against Covid-19. "I wouldn’t necessarily share this assessment". With chloroquine it is "known that toxic effects can occur relatively quickly in the event of an overdose".

Still unknown: where does the coronavirus come from?

According to Pöhlmann and his colleague Markus Hoffmann, a lot is already known about the new type of coronavirus: genetic information, how it reproduces and how it can be transmitted. However, it is not known from which animal the virus originates. "It is also not yet known how long the virus has actually been circulating in humans", explains Hoffmann. "And what is very relevant for us is: What kind of immune protection is built up after surviving this infection?"

Pöhlmann and Hoffmann are researching an active ingredient in monkeys themselves. "We assume that the Covid-19 disease picture can be mapped particularly well in non-human primates, «says Pöhlmann in support of the reason.

Infection biologists Prof. Stefan Pöhlmann and Dr. Markus Hoffmann (Source: German Primate Center / Karin Tilch)

In addition, for some coronaviruses it is known that not only good but also harmful antibodies can be formed that intensify the infections. "To check such a problem you need a good model, and in my opinion non-human primates are particularly important here", explains Pöhlmann.

All other podcast topics relating to the consequences of the coronavirus can be found here in the overview.

Audio trend: These are podcasts and you can find them here.Hear more: An overview of all podcasts from t-online.de.Tonspur Wissen: All topics at a glance

The podcast "Sound track knowledge" from t-online.de and the Leibniz Association are available in all podcast apps on smartphones and tablets and on all major platforms:

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