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Know Your Enemy

Computer model of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein – with which the virus binds to cells

12 April 2020

Know Your Enemy

The fight against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus (also known as COVID-19) is a united global effort. While medical staff and healthcare scientists work to treat patients, physicists and computer scientists are helping virologists to understand the virus, the first step towards designing drugs to slow its spread, and vaccines – inhibited versions of the virus injected to help to prepare the body’s immune defences. Here a supercomputer runs a simulation of a tree-like protein on COVID-19’s surface (pink). The virus uses these ‘spike proteins’ to infect human cells, and these computer models – simulating their microscopic machinery – may suggest weaknesses or structural details that new drug compounds can exploit. As labs around the world rally to the cause, resources like this will surely help their tireless work.

Written by John Ankers

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BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

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