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British Scientists Develop Nasal Spray to Help Cut Covid Risks

Researchers at Aalborg University screen and analyze positive coronavirus samples for the virus variant cluster B117 from the United Kingdom, in Aalborg, Denmark, Jan. 15, 2021. (AFP Photo)
Researchers at Aalborg University screen and analyze positive coronavirus samples for the virus variant cluster B117 from the United Kingdom, in Aalborg, Denmark, Jan. 15, 2021. (AFP Photo)
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British Scientists Develop Nasal Spray to Help Cut Covid Risks

Researchers at Aalborg University screen and analyze positive coronavirus samples for the virus variant cluster B117 from the United Kingdom, in Aalborg, Denmark, Jan. 15, 2021. (AFP Photo)
Researchers at Aalborg University screen and analyze positive coronavirus samples for the virus variant cluster B117 from the United Kingdom, in Aalborg, Denmark, Jan. 15, 2021. (AFP Photo)

British scientists have developed an anti-viral nasal spray that dramatically cuts the chance of catching Covid. Two pumps in each nostril protect for up to eight hours, say its inventors. They believe the spray, pHOXWELL, could play a vital role in providing more protection for vulnerable patients in hospitals and care homes – and encourage workers to return to the office, The Daily Mail reported.

NHS heart surgeon and entrepreneur Professor Rakesh Uppal, chairman of Raphael Labs, the firm behind the invention, said it was "a significant breakthrough", adding that "we now have an effective tool, previously missing, to fight this pandemic. Vaccination, while absolutely essential, is not 100 percent effective and it is still possible to become infected by and transmit the virus that causes Covid-19."

He said the spray offered extra protection on top of vaccines and personal protection equipment (PPE) because it inhibited this virus, Sars-CoV-2, from infecting the mucus membrane in the nose – the main entry point to the body.
The spray was trialed on more than 600 unvaccinated health workers in India at the peak of its early summer wave. Those who received pHOXWELL were two-thirds less likely to become infected with Covid over a 45-day period than colleagues given a dummy spray.

The main aim is to help protect millions of people in developing countries who have been unable to get a Covid vaccine. The spray is easy to transport and store, being stable at room temperature. But it could also benefit people who have been jabbed – as vaccination does not provide perfect protection from infection.

Oxford University chemist Professor Angela Russell, who is one of pHOXWELL's inventors, said: "We think something like the spray could help us get the country back on its feet."

People would be able to come together in enclosed spaces with more confidence. You could see having the spray in your bag as common as having pills like paracetamol in case you get a headache.

Laboratory studies found the spray – which contains an active substance that is lethal to certain viruses but otherwise harmless – killed Sars-CoV-2 in 30 seconds. This prevents it from getting beyond mucus in the nose and thus into the body. It was also active against flu, killing it within five minutes.

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Nearby Sculptor Galaxy Revealed in Ultra-Detailed Galactic Image

This undated handout image released by European Southern Observatory on June 17, 2025 shows a detailed, thousand-color image of the Sculptor Galaxy captured with the MUSE instrument at ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). (Handout / European Southern Observatory / AFP)
This undated handout image released by European Southern Observatory on June 17, 2025 shows a detailed, thousand-color image of the Sculptor Galaxy captured with the MUSE instrument at ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). (Handout / European Southern Observatory / AFP)
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Nearby Sculptor Galaxy Revealed in Ultra-Detailed Galactic Image

This undated handout image released by European Southern Observatory on June 17, 2025 shows a detailed, thousand-color image of the Sculptor Galaxy captured with the MUSE instrument at ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). (Handout / European Southern Observatory / AFP)
This undated handout image released by European Southern Observatory on June 17, 2025 shows a detailed, thousand-color image of the Sculptor Galaxy captured with the MUSE instrument at ESO’s Very Large Telescope (VLT). (Handout / European Southern Observatory / AFP)

The Sculptor galaxy is similar in many respects to our Milky Way. It is about the same size and mass, with a similar spiral structure. But while it is impossible to get a full view of the Milky Way from the vantage point of Earth because we are inside the galaxy, Sculptor is perfectly positioned for a good look.

Astronomers have done just that, releasing an ultra-detailed image of the Sculptor galaxy on Wednesday obtained with 50 hours of observations using one of the world's biggest telescopes, the European Southern Observatory's Chile-based Very Large Telescope.

The image shows Sculptor, also called NGC 253, in around 4,000 different colors, each corresponding to a specific wavelength in the optical spectrum.

Because various galactic components emit light differently across the spectrum, the observations are providing information at unprecedented detail on the inner workings of an entire galaxy, from star formation to the motion of interstellar gas on large scales. Conventional images in astronomy offer only a handful of colors, providing less information.

The researchers used the telescope's Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer, or MUSE, instrument.

"NGC 253 is close enough that we can observe it in remarkable detail with MUSE, yet far enough that we can still see the entire galaxy in a single field of view," said astronomer Enrico Congiu, a fellow at the European Southern Observatory in Santiago, and lead author of research being published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.

"In the Milky Way, we can achieve extremely high resolution, but we lack a global view since we're inside it. For more distant galaxies, we can get a global view, but not the fine detail. That's why NGC 253 is such a perfect target: it acts as a bridge between the ultra-detailed studies of the Milky Way and the large-scale studies of more distant galaxies. It gives us a rare opportunity to connect the small-scale physics with the big-picture view," Congiu said.

Sculptor is about 11 million light-years from Earth, making it one of the closest big galaxies to the Milky Way. A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion km).

Like the Milky Way, it is a barred spiral galaxy, meaning it has an elongated structure extending from its nucleus, with spiral arms extending from the ends of the bar. Its diameter of about 88,000 light-years is similar to the Milky Way's, as is its total mass. One major difference is Sculptor's rate of new star formation, estimated to be two to three times greater than that of the Milky Way.

Nearly 30% of this star formation is happening near the galaxy's nucleus in what is called a starburst region, as revealed in colorful emissions shown in the new image.

The observations have given information on a wide range of properties such as the motion, age and chemical composition of stars and the movement of interstellar gas, an important component of any galaxy.

"Since the light from stars is typically bluer if the stars are young or redder if the stars are old, having thousands of colors lets us learn a lot about what stars and populations of stars exist in the galaxy," said astronomer Kathryn Kreckel of Heidelberg University in Germany, a study co-author.

"Similarly for the gas, it glows in specific bright emission lines at very specific colors, and tells us about the different elements that exist in the gas, and what is causing it to glow," Kreckel said.

The initial research being published from the observations involves planetary nebulae, which are luminous clouds of gas and dust expelled by certain dying stars. Despite their name, they have nothing to do with planets. These nebulae can help astronomers measure the precise distances of faraway galaxies.

The researchers marveled at the scientific and aesthetic value of the new view of Sculptor.

"I personally find these images amazing," Congiu said. "What amazes me the most is that every time I look at them, I notice something new - another nebula, a splash of unexpected color or some subtle structure that hints at the incredible physics behind it all."