As the coronavirus pandemic continues to ravage the majority of the world it has upended nearly every facet of life and researchers are racing to find a cure. Now, it seems they may be on to something.
According to a newly published study has suggested that researchers have found what they describe as the virus’s “Achilles’ heel.”
A statement from Scripps Research says that a specific portion of the virus could be targeted with vaccines after they mapped a human antibody’s interaction with SARS-CoV-2 at “near-atomic-scale resolution.” The antibody, taken from a SARS patient several years ago, also reacts to SARS-CoV-2.
In a statement from the study’s lead author, Dr. Ian Wilson, he says, “The knowledge of conserved sites like this can aid in structure-based design of vaccines and therapeutics against SARS-CoV-2, and these would also protect against other coronaviruses—including those that may emerge in the future.”
The virus’s flaw is difficult to find, unfortunately, thus “adding to the mystery,” the researchers said.
Co-author of the study, Meng Yuan added, “We found that this region is usually hidden inside the virus, and only exposed when that part of the virus changes its structure, as it would in natural infection.”
Researchers in a separate study pointed out that blood of recovered patients can aid in the treatment of severe cases. Those who have recovered from COVID-19 are being actively sought out by Scripps Research to find those who are willing to donate their blood to screen for potential antibodies.
The Journal of the American Medical Association
published research that looked at five patients in Shenzhen, China, who were deemed “critically ill” and the experts found that giving them an experimental plasma transfusion that contained a “neutralizing antibody” helped in their recovery.
As of Sunday morning, more than 312,000 coronavirus cases have been diagnosed in the U.S. making it the most impacted country in the world.
