Researchers from Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Medical Center, Israel , have developed a new coronavirus drug that cured most volunteers who received it between three to five days.

The team at the hospital said 29 out of 30 people suffering from moderate to severe COVID-19 recovered within three to five days in the Phase 1 trials of the drug called EXO-C24.

They said all the volunteers also survived.

The hospital conducting the Phase 1 trial described the development as a ‘huge breakthrough’.

EXO-CD24 is a medication delivered directly to the lungs, to help prevent the immune system dealing with COVID-19 from overreacting and causing complications.

Prof. Nadir Arber, the researcher who runs the lab said the preparation is inhaled once a day for a few minutes, for five days.

He said, “The preparation is directed straight to the heart of the storm — the lungs — so unlike other formulas which selectively restrain a certain cytokine, or operate widely but cause many serious side effects, EXO-CD24 is administered locally, works broadly and without side effects.”

The drug uses exosomes, tiny carrier sacs that shuttle materials between cells , to deliver a protein called CD24 to the lungs.

The protein works to help calm the immune system and prevent cytokine storm . A cytokine storm is the name given to a worsening reaction to COVID-19 that can result in multiple organ failure and death.

The risk of a cytokine storm is particularly prevalent in older and at-risk groups.

One of the researchers involved in the study, Shiran Shapira, said the protein is located on the surface of cells and has a well known and important role in regulating the immune system.

The production of treatment for coronavirus would help massively in the fight against the disease.

The drug will move to the next phases of research, for additional information on its effectiveness and safety.

EXO-CD24 , like vaccines will have to receive emergency authorization before it can be used as a COVID-19 therapy

A computer hacker gained access to the water system of a city in Florida and tried to pump in a “dangerous” amount of a chemical, officials say.

The hacker briefly increased the amount of sodium hydroxide (lye) in Oldsmar’s water treatment system, but a worker spotted it and reversed the action.

Lye is used in small amounts to control acidity but a large amount could have caused major problems in the water.

Oldsmar Mayor Eric Seidel said: “There’s a bad actor out there.”

No arrests have yet been made and it is not known if the hack was done from within the US or outside.

A computer controlling Oldsmar’s water treatment system was remotely accessed on Friday.

A plant operator saw an attempt to access the system in the morning but assumed it was his supervisor, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

But another attempt was made early in the afternoon and this time the hacker accessed the treatment software and increased the sodium hydroxide content from 100 parts per million to 11,100 ppm.

The operator immediately reduced the level to normal.

Sodium hydroxide is the chief ingredient in liquid drain cleaners. It is very corrosive and can cause irritation to the skin and eyes, along with temporary loss of hair.

Swallowing it can cause damage to the mouth, throat and stomach and induce vomiting, nausea and diarrhoea.

Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said: “I’m not a chemist. But I can tell you what I do know is… if you put that amount of that substance into the drinking water, it’s not a good thing.”

But he added: “At no time was there a significant adverse effect on the water being treated. Importantly, the public was never in danger.”

The Oldsmar plant provides water to businesses and about 15,000 residents.

The remote access programme to the water system has been temporarily disabled.

Vaccines are claimed to be the biggest hope in getting out of the coronavirus pandemic and returning to normality. However, they may not be the only solution, or even the best one.

In Israel, professor Nadri Aber has invented a miracle inhaler which can cure COVID-19 in just five days.

His inhaler has an efficacy of 96 percent, with 29 of the 30 patients who trialled it at the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Centre recovering rapidly from the virus and leaving the hospital between three and five days. Only one inhalation was enough to fight off the virus, even with more serious cases.

Nadir himself described it as an “unprecedented invention” after seeing the results.

“It is an innovative device based on exosomes enriched in CD24 that can be inhaled directly into the lungs “, said Nadir.

The device now only needs to be approved by national and international health authorities in order to be used amongst the general public.

Israel isn’t the only place where alternatives to vaccines are being studied. In the Gregorio Maranon hospital in Madrid, tests are being carried out with a treatment for serious cases which involves an intravenous injection of enriched immunoglobulin. Early results have been promising with the first two patients to receive the treatment having been released from hospital.