Researchers make 1st 3D map of novel coronavirus (COVID-19)

New York: Researchers have made a critical breakthrough towards developing a vaccine for the 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) by creating the first 3D atomic-scale map of the part of the virus that attaches to and infects human cells.

Mapping this part, called the spike protein, is an essential step so researchers around the world can develop vaccines and antiviral drugs to combat the virus, said the study published in the journal Science.

The scientific team is also working on a related viable vaccine candidate stemming from the research.

“As soon as we knew this was a coronavirus, we felt we had to jump at it because we could be one of the first ones to get this structure. We knew exactly what mutations to put into this because we’ve already shown these mutations work for a bunch of other coronaviruses,” said the study’s lead researcher Jason McLellan from the University of Texas.

McLella and his colleagues have spent many years studying other coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV.

They had already developed methods for locking coronavirus spike proteins into a shape that made them easier to analyze and could effectively turn them into candidates for vaccines.

According to the study, just two weeks after receiving the genome sequence of the virus from Chinese researchers, the team had designed and produced samples of their stabilized spike protein. (IANS)

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