"A new study offers the first clear evidence that, in some people, the coronavirus invades brain cells, hijacking them to make copies of itself."

"The virus also seems to suck up all of the oxygen nearby, starving neighboring cells to death. It’s unclear how the virus gets to the brain or how often it sets off this trail of destruction. Infection of the brain is likely to be rare, but some people may be susceptible because of their genetic backgrounds, a high viral load or other reasons.... 'Days after infection, and we already see a dramatic reduction in the amount of synapses,' Dr. Muotri said. 'We don’t know yet if that is reversible or not.'"

The NYT reports.