THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN
Thursday, October 8, 2020
Vol. 130, No. 15
COLLEGIAN.COM
VIEW FROM ABOVE see photo story on page 12 >> OPINION
Social media contributes to the age of misinformation The internet has created a world where we never know what the truth really is By Mason Holitza @MHolitza
that causes COVID-19. “Plasma with the antiSARS-CoV-2 antibodies can be collected from a donor who has recovered from COVID-19 using a process called apheresis,” Ragan wrote. “The collected convalescent plasma can then be transfused back into COVID-19 patients with severe disease to boost their immune system and fight off the virus.”
Editor’s Note: All opinion section content reflects the views of the individual author only and does not represent a stance taken by The Collegian or its editorial board. Let’s face it, the information age is over, and we have moved into the age of misinformation, and it’s a bad situation. The revolution of social media truly began with Facebook, one of the first highly accessible forms of social media that connected people on a large scale. Though, Facebook was just a catalyst for an explosion of apps and websites that changed media consumption for everyone. Since Facebook, many social media apps have come and gone, but social media, and individualized media consumption, has become a daily part of life for many people, especially us students, as told by the recently released Netflix documentary, “The Social Dilemma.” It’s the only way that some Americans receive news at all, and it sways our opinions on issues more than we might like to admit. Are the people you listen to on a daily basis speaking the truth? Or are they simply another victim of this telephone effect that social media seems to have on facts?
see PLASMA on page 4 >>
see SOCIAL MEDIA on page 6 >>
The Research Innovation Center is part of the Colorado State University Infectious Disease Research Center, which recently received authorization from the Food and Drug Administration to conduct studies on COVID-19 antibodies. The RIC is located at CSU’s Foothills campus. PHOTO BY ANNA VON PECHMANN THE COLLEGIAN
Convalescent plasma research begins Infectious Disease Research Center leads push for COVID-19 treatment By Ceci Taylor @cecelia_twt
Scientists at Colorado State University’s Infectious Disease Research Center are now studying COVID-19 antibodies and their possible effects on patients infected with the disease. The Food and Drug Administration recently authorized convalescent plasma research as a way to
treat COVID-19. Izabela Ragan, a postdoctoral fellow in the department of biomedical sciences at CSU, wrote in an email to The Collegian that antibodies are proteins the immune system produces to fight off invaders like bacteria and viruses. Ragan wrote that antibodies will find, attach to and stop the invader’s ability to replicate and spread. “Once bound to the anti-
gen, antibodies activate other aspects of the immune response to help destroy the invader,” Ragan wrote. “Our immune system produces several types of antibodies like IgG, IgA and IgM; each has a unique job, but they work together to attack.” Ragan also wrote that a patient develops antibodies found in the plasma portion of whole blood after recovering from SARS-CoV-2, the virus
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