Nate Smallwood | Tribune-Review
Dr. Amesh Adalja, speaks with a Tribune-Review reporter prior to giving a presentation on the coronavirus at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business on Feb. 27, 2020.
Sean Stipp | Tribune-Review
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In spite of all the scientific evidence indicating that vaccination is the key to fighting the spread of covid-19, a significant segment of the American population remains hesitant to get inoculated.
Vaccine hesitancy is part of the impetus for the second panel in Carnegie Science Center’s Vaccine Speaker Series, a webinar that begins Thursday at 7 p.m. The discussion will focus on ways to encourage people to get vaccinated and help prevent the spread of infectious diseases.
SARS-CoV-2 with Genomic Deletions Escapes an Antibody
Researchers identify deletions in the N-terminal domain of the spike protein that allow the coronavirus to avoid antibody neutralization and that may contribute to the emergence of new variants.
Feb 16, 2021
ABOVE: Merged images illustrate multiple antibodies (green and red) binding to the wildtype SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, which is produced by human cells (DNA in blue, left). In cells (DNA in blue, right) that produce a version of the spike protein with deletions, some antibodies fail to bind (absence of green), while others (red) still attach well.
KEVIN MCCARTHY AND PAUL DUPREX
When SARS-CoV-2, the virus behind the COVID-19 pandemic, first emerged, scientists expected it to evolve slowly because the virus copies its big RNA genome with a polymerase that also corrects errors, thus minimizing the chance for certain types of mutations. This enzyme functionality isn’t present in other RNA viruses such as influenza and HIV,