Jan 16 2021 Read 340 Times
University of York scientists have been able to identify potentially vulnerable sites on a key protein found in coronavirus using computer modelling, paving the way for possible new drug treatments in the future.
The coronavirus responsible for the Covid-19 epidemic deploys dozens of viral biomolecules when it invades host cells with the disease. One of these is a compact protein, the main protease, whose function is critical to the virus. By analysing the structure of the protease using modelling techniques, the scientists have been able to simulate the protein’s motions, suggesting sites that might be accessible to new drugs.