New study sheds light on coronavirus infection mechanism
by Ian Sample Science editor from on (#51EYY)
Researchers at the University of Minnesota created a 3D map of the 'spike' protein used to latch on to cells
New research has shed light on a crucial biological mechanism that may have helped the coronavirus to infect humans and spread rapidly around the world.
A detailed analysis of the virus's structure shows that the club-like "spikes" that it uses to establish infections latch on to human cells about four times more strongly than those on the related Sars coronavirus, which killed hundreds of people in a 2002 epidemic.
Continue reading...