New study may bring researchers closer to COVID-19 treatment

In finding a solution to the coronavirus pandemic ravaging the world, a new study has made a discovery about SARS-CoV-2 that may help researchers develop an appropriate treatment for the virus. Five researchers from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, set out to learn more about SARS-CoV, the virus that can lead to severe Acute […]

In finding a solution to the coronavirus pandemic ravaging the world, a new study has made a discovery about SARS-CoV-2 that may help researchers develop an appropriate treatment for the virus.

Five researchers from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, set out to learn more about SARS-CoV, the virus that can lead to severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and MERS-CoV, which can trigger Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), structure and mechanisms related to two coronaviruses that have created turmoil in the past.

The scientists, Tiffany Tang, Miya Bidon, Javier Jaimes, Ph.D., Gary Whittaker, Ph.D., and Prof Susan Daniel who have turned their attention to the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 in their initial, as well as current research, were particularly interested in the function of the spike protein, a protein that viruses use to transfer their genetic information into cells, causing infection.

In their research, the scientists looked specifically at fusion peptides, short-chain amino acids present in the spike proteins of the coronaviruses that they were studying.

To infect a cell, the viruses go through a multistep process called “membrane fusion,” which ultimately allows them to “inject” their genetic information into the cell they are infecting.