The Best of the Coronavirus Blog This Week

New research from Johns Hopkins University shed light on one of the most bizarre coronavirus mysteries: why many people with Covid-19 lose their sense of smell. This phenomenon, known as anosmia, was documented in up to 57% of Covid-19 patients in one study, but little was known about its cause. Until now: As Dana Smith writes at the Medium Coronavirus Blog, the loss of smell may be linked to the cells that make up the nose’s odor-detecting areas. They have significantly more ACE2 receptors — crucial for the coronavirus to enter cells — than other cells in the nose.