Coronavirus Blog

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Where are the drugs?

by Katharina Hoffmann on 2021/06/17

Why are vaccines developed so quickly and treatments so slowly? In March 2020, the WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Since then, 14 vaccines have entered the global market[1], and the number of immunized people grows every day. Even though vaccine development has never been this fast in history and will save many lives worldwide, people […]

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Sizes of Viruses, Droplets, Aerosols, and the Construction of Masks

by Toyin Akinselure on 2021/06/10

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This article looks deep into the internal structure of masks, and discusses different types of masks and how they work. Interesting!

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How SARS-CoV-2 takes over its host—NSP1, the Leader Protein

by Lea von Soosten on 2021/06/03

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Introduction This protein is known under many different names such as non-structural protein NSP1, leader protein, host translation inhibitor and host shutoff factor. Some of these names already tell us about the function and importance of this relatively small protein. It is found in all betacoronaviruses1 and, even though it only contains 180 amino acids2, […]

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Opinion: Can the Strategy of the Ongoing COVID-19 Vaccination End the Pandemic Fast Enough?

by Joshua Ezika on 2021/05/28

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COVID-19 vaccines were developed in record time and vaccination exercise is of course ongoing in most countries. Everyone is anxious to see the pandemic come to an end for things to return to normal. As of 23rd April 2021, more than 966 million doses have been administered worldwide [1], however, we have to remember that […]

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Babelian SARS-CoV-2 confusion

by Dr. Andrea Thorn on 2021/05/20

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There is a secret code that virologists use to talk about the new coronavirus. This code is made up of synonymous words and abbreviations for each of the 28 proteins which facilitate the viral life cycle. In this article, we will shed some light on this mythical language. First of all, SARS-CoV-2 has three classes […]

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Ironic: Using viruses to fight coronavirus

by Katharina Hoffmann on 2021/04/29

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In addition to mRNA vaccines, another type of vaccine is employed against COVID-19: Vector vaccines—like the one from AstraZeneca—contain a mostly functioning virus. But how do they work exactly? What are their strengths and weaknesses? And finally, are they safe? The novel mRNA vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 have caused some controversy, and many concerns have been […]

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Watching coronavirus multiply – the quest for structures of SARS-CoV-2 RNA polymerase

by Luise Kandler on 2021/04/15

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A guest entry by Hauke Hillen In order for the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 to replicate, it has to achieve two basic tasks: It needs to make copies of its genome that can be packaged into new virus particles, and it needs to activate viral genes to produce the proteins that actually form new virus particles, […]

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Vaccination Safety Management

by Joshua Ezika on 2021/04/01

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Introduction: Vaccination is a great means of achieving public protection against diseases. The main goal of any vaccine manufacturer is to produce a vaccine that will be safe and effective in preventing the target disease. Before any vaccine is rolled out for mass vaccination or campaign, it must have met the required rigorous scientific and […]

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SARS-CoV-2 Rapid Antigen Testing in a German Hospital

by Luise Kandler on 2021/03/02

During Christmas holidays in Germany the SARS-CoV-2 infections still increased dramatically. In Miesbach, a small town near Munich and close to the Alpes, where daily winter tourism was booming during Christmas, the hospital of Agatharied exceeded the alarming value of Corona infections. In December, 50 new infections occurred among patients and staff from several different wards […]

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Opinion: Press release about "Coronavirus Origin Study" by Prof. Wiesendanger and Hamburg University

by Dr. Andrea Thorn on 2021/02/22

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“The coronavirus has led to a worldwide crisis for over a year. In a new study, nanoscientist Prof. Dr. Roland Wiesendanger illuminates the origins of the virus. His findings conclude there are a number of quality sources indicating a laboratory accident at the Wuhan Institute of Virology as the cause of the current pandemic.” This […]

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How SARS-CoV-2 (Coronavirus) mRNA-based Vaccines Work

by Joshua Ezika on 2021/02/22

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In this blogpost Joshua explains how we are immune with Covid-19 vaccine.

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The packaging of the RNA - Nucleocapsid proteins

by Oliver Kippes on 2021/02/22

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1. Introduction: With SARS-CoV-2 infections and related death rates continuing to rise worldwide and new variants emerging, the virus is still a great and present danger. Although we have gathered significant knowledge and the first vaccinations have started, new mutations can still set our efforts back and possibly make the virus even more potent. Thus, searches […]

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SARS-CoV-2 Entry Animation from Iwasa Group – a little Christmas Present to the Scientific Community

by Luise Kandler on 2020/12/24

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See how the virus binds to a host cell and manages to insert its RNA on a molecular level! Merry Christmas from the Iwasa Lab and the Coronavirus Structural Task Force!

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The new mutation of SARS-CoV-2

by Dr. Andrea Thorn on 2020/12/23

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The new strain of Coronavirus - what do we know?

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How do we know that Viruses exist?

by Erik Nebelung on 2020/12/22

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If you want to know how exactly science found out about the existence of viruses, this post is for you!

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How reliable is the Pfizer-BioNTech claim that their vaccine is 90 percent effective?

by Dale E. Tronrud on 2020/12/10

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On Nov 9th, 2020 Pfizer issued a press release stating their conclusion that the COVID-19 vaccine they developed with BioNTech appeared to be 90% effective. While their test contained over 43,000 volunteers they had only detected 94 cases of COVID-19. How confident can you be with only 94 cases? I decided to explore this matter […]

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VIP treatment: Very Important Proteins

by Lea von Soosten on 2020/12/07

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Methyltransferases manage to fool the host cell into giving viral RNA VIP treatment. For details, read this blog post by Cameron Fyfe and Lea von Soosten!

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What does the Pfizer press release really mean?

by Dr. Andrea Thorn on 2020/11/09

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A press release came out today from Pfizer and Binotech with a very exciting announcement, but what does it say? Andrea shares her insights.

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Accessory Protein 7a: Key Role in Pathogenesis?

by Sabrina Stäb on 2020/10/30

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The genome of the novel SARS-CoV-2 codes for an ORF1a/ ORF1ab (open reading frame) polyprotein containing sixteen non-structural proteins (NSP) and four structural proteins. The genome also has multiple ORFs coding for accessory proteins through a frame shift. These accessory proteins are not necessary for viral replication but might play a key role in pathogenesis […]

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Exoribonuclease: Making the most when mistakes are made

by Cameron D Fyfe on 2020/09/01

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Exoribonuclease is a domain of nsp14 responsible for chopping out nucleotides incorrectly added by RdRp. This enzyme allows the large 29.9 kb genome of SARS-CoV-2 and remains a worthwhile target for drugs to fight this virus.

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Rage Against the Machine with Remdesivir

by Alexander Matthew Payne and Binisha Karki on 2020/08/20

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RNA Polymerase is central to virus replication, and Remdesivir stops it. How? Learn here!

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What does the Coronavirus really look like?

by Dr. Andrea Thorn on 2020/07/31

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You cannot see the virus. Until now!

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How to make your own 3D printed coronavirus model

by Kristopher Nolte on 2020/07/30

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The instructions and files below will allow you to create your own model of the virus! All you need is some spare time and a 3D printer.

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The Disastrous Life of Nsp15 Endoribonuclease NendoU

by Dr. Sam Horrell on 2020/07/27

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A discussion on the structure and function of SARS-CoV-2's Nsp15 (Endoribonuclease NendoU) with a little help from Voltron.

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The E protein: A small but mysterious structure

by Luise Kandler on 2020/07/10

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Luise explains the structural variants of the E protein and how it is involved in virus formation and pathogenesis.

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Untangling nsp3 - Papain-like Protease

by Kristopher Nolte on 2020/06/28

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We delve deeper into the differences between nsp3`s and follow through by analyzing the structure of one domain of nsp3 in particular: papain-like protease.

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To Model, or Not to Model? That is the Question

by Dr. Sam Horrell on 2020/06/19

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A discussion on how we as crystallographers can best present our structural models for consumption by downstream users.

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Spike Glycoprotein: Corona’s Key for Invasion

by Sabrina Stäb on 2020/06/05

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COVID-19 is caused by the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. This virus has a characteristic virus hull featuring surface proteins which are commonly called “spikes”. Protruding from the viral hull like “spikes of a crown”, they give the coronavirus its name (corona = crown). These proteins make the first contact with human cells and are akin to […]

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I Hear SARS-CoV-2 Was Made in a Lab, What do you Think?

by Dr. Sam Horrell on 2020/06/02

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It has been said that a lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting its shoes on. This article looks into the claims that SARS-CoV-2 was produced in a lab and presents the science that has now had time to put on its shoes.

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How can we measure the structures of macromolecules?

by Ferdinand Kirsten on 2020/05/18

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How are the structures of proteins measured? Which common methods are there? What Data do you get?

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Spike Glycoprotein: The Key to Invade the Host Cell

by Sabrina Stäb on 2020/05/12

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How does the spike on the hull of the coronavirus permit it to enter host cells? Why is it a major target for vaccine and antibody design?

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Making a Virus-Killer

by Dr. Andrea Thorn on 2020/04/30

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Andrea explains how medicinal drugs are designed, why Aspirin helps against your headache and how the Task Force helps drug designers against COVID-19.

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Untangling Nsp3 of SARS-CoV-2

by Kristopher Nolte on 2020/04/22

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The world holds its breath as the novel Coronavirus continues to spread across the world, bringing our lives to a halt. We have gathered a lot of knowledge about the virus but there are still many gaps to fill. The non-structural-protein 3 (nsp3) represents one of these gaps in our knowledge. As the largest protein encoded by the coronaviruses genome, untangling its structure and function poses a huge task.

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The invisible enemy

by Ferdinand Kirsten on 2020/04/15

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What is the virus? Which molecular structures make up SARS-CoV-2? How can it infect other cells?

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Visualizing macromolecular structures

by Ferdinand Kirsten on 2020/04/07

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"I don't see how you could possibly describe a protein structure in a thousand words, but you can come a lot closer with one picture." - Jane Richardson

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3C-like Protease: A Promising Drug Target

by Sabrina Stäb on 2020/04/07

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The development of new drugs is essential to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. One promising drug target is the 3C-like protease, also known as main protease or MPro.