SARS-CoV-2 turns on a cellular switch to build the tubes in this photo – called filopodia – that might help viral particles – the little spheres – spread more easily.
Dr Elizabeth Fischer, NIAID NIH / Bouhaddou et al. Elsevier 2020
Nevan Krogan, University of California, San Francisco
Kinases are cellular control switches. When they malfunction, they can cause cancer. The coronavirus hijacks these kinases to replicate, and cancer drugs that target them could fight COVID-19.
It takes a tremendous amount of computing power to simulate all the components and behaviors of viruses and cells.
Copyright: Thomas Splettstoesser scistyle.com
Scanning through billions of chemicals to find a few potential drugs for treating COVID-19 requires computers that harness together thousands of processors.
Finding drugs that treat the COVID-19 coronavirus may be just as important as developing a vaccine. But it’s much harder to create effective antivirals than antibiotics.
Testing in cells is an important and exciting first step.
elkor/E+ via Getty Images
Nevan Krogan, University of California, San Francisco
Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, identified nine existing drugs that show promise to treat COVID-19. The proteins they target haven’t been tried before.
Preliminary results from a US trial show remdesivir may help in treating COVID-19. But the findings haven’t been peer-reviewed, and the results from other clinical trials have shown little effect.
Wouldn’t it be nice if getting a vaccine was a simple as putting on a Band-Aid?
UPMC
It seems as though every other day we’re told a cure has been found for coronavirus. This is not strictly true – but there are some therapeutic options showing promise.
Scientific research on the novel coronavirus has progressed at unprecedented speed.
Mongkolchon Akesin / Shutterstock
While there is no cure for COVID-19, dozens of clinical trials are underway to test retroviral medicines and potential vaccines targeting the novel coronavirus.
An employee in Nantong, China, checks the production of chloroquine phosphate, an old drug for the treatment of malaria.
Feature China/Barcroft Media via Getty Images
A medicinal chemist addresses questions about chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine: what it is, whether it is effective against COVID-19 and whether it can treat and/or prevent this disease.
There are 20,000 FDA approved drugs. One of them might fight COVID-19, if we can find it.
Peter Dazeley/The Image Bank via Getty Images
Nevan Krogan, University of California, San Francisco
Among the more than 20,000 drugs approved by the FDA, there may be some that can treat COVID-19. A team at the University of California, San Francisco, is identifying possible candidates.
U.S. Surgeon General Vice Admiral Jerome M. Adams, center, demonstrates hand-washing to U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, left, and Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, right, in Rocky Hill, Conn., March 2, 2020.
AP Photo/Jessica Hill
As the coronavirus spreads, public health officials stress the importance of hand washing. But can it really make that much of a difference? A microbiologist explains why.
Patients infected with COVID-19 rest at a temporary hospital in Wuhan, China, Feb. 17, 2020.
Getty Images/Xiao Yijiu
Viruses are basically parasites and, as such, can wreak havoc – but not always. Viruses are within you right now. Viruses cause the most damage when they jump from a familiar host to a new host.
High-tech ways to scan nature’s own creations.
Caleb Foster/Shutterstock.com
Pharmaceutical companies focus on small molecules they’ve devised – and can easily patent. But nature’s already come up with many antibacterial compounds that drug designers could use to make medicines.
A clinical trial currently underway in France could confirm that that HIV treatment can be safely reduced to just four days a week, while maintaining the same efficacy.
Tens of thousands of Australians have been cured of Hepatitis C since March 2016.
from shutterstock.com
Australia has been subsidising drugs to cure hepatitis C since March 2016. Unlike in many other countries, these are available to everyone with the disease and are much cheaper for our government.
Computers may play an important role in preparing us for the next viral outbreak – whether flu or Ebola.
UW Institute for Protein Design
This antivirus software protects health, not computers. Researchers are beginning to combat deadly infections using computer-generated antiviral proteins – a valuable tool to fight a future pandemic.
At over $1,300 a pill, a cure for hepatitis C comes at a high price.
from www.shutterstock.com.au
Erica Penfold, South African Institute of International Affairs
Medicine shortages in southern Africa, particularly of anti-retrovirals for HIV patients, require urgent attention. A regional approach to distribution has been tried in South America and could work for the region.
Viral mutation, or ‘genetic drift’, could impact the viability of some drugs being developed to combat Ebola.
NIAID/Flickr
Scientists around the world are trying to develop effective treatments for Ebola infection. But a process of viral mutation, known as “genetic drift”, could potentially compromise their efforts.
Professor and Director of Quantitative Biosciences Institute & Senior Investigator at the Gladstone Institutes, University of California, San Francisco
Director, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, The University of Melbourne and Royal Melbourne Hospital and Consultant Physician, Department of Infectious Diseases, Alfred Hospital and Monash University, The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity