An Unproven Theorem

Molecular Biophysics Unit Of IISc Makes Crucial Breakthrough In Structure Of SARS CoV-2 Virus Research team at the Molecular Biophysics Unit (MBU) of the Indian Institute of Science has made a crucial breakthrough in the study of the spike protein (S Protein) of the SARS-CoV-2 virus which causes Covid-19. The research team has observed that around 68 per cent of the S-proteins exist in open formation at physiological pH 7.4, but their proportion decreases when the pH is slightly higher (pH 8.0) or lower (pH 6.5). The structural insights gained from this study could aid in developing therapeutics against SARS-CoV-2, including vaccines that target the S-protein, according to the authors of the study. "This suggests that the interaction between the S protein and receptor is more favoured at physiological pH (pH 7.4) than on either side of the biological pH scale," the Assistant Professor at MBU, IISc, Somnath Dutta who led the research team stated. Several other published studie...

India's COVID-19 emergency The Lancet Published: May 08, 2021 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01052-7 The scenes of suffering in India are hard to comprehend. As of May 4, more than 20·2 million cases of COVID-19 had been reported, with a rolling average of 378 000 cases a day, together with more than 222 000 deaths, which experts believe are likely to be substantial underestimates. Hospitals are overwhelmed, and health workers are exhausted and becoming infected. Social media is full of desperate people (doctors and the public) seeking medical oxygen, hospital beds, and other necessities. Yet before the second wave of cases of COVID-19 began to mount in early March, Indian Minister of Health  Harsh Vardhan declared  that India was in the “endgame” of the epidemic. The impression from the government was that India had beaten COVID-19 after several months of low case counts, despite  repeated warnings of the dangers of a second wave  and the emergence of n...

NEWS    23 JANUARY 2021     UPDATE  23 JANUARY 2021 Why did the world’s pandemic warning system fail when COVID hit? Nearly one year ago, the World Health Organization sounded the alarm about the coronavirus, but was ignored. Amy Maxmen       PDF version WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is reviewing how the world responded to the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic during an executive board meeting this week. Credit: Fabrice Coffrini/Reuters The World Health Organization (WHO) sounded its highest alarm on 30 January 2020 — a declaration called a ‘public health emergency of international concern’, or PHEIC, signalling that a pandemic might be imminent. Few countries heeded the WHO’s call for testing, tracing and social distancing to curb the coronavirus. By mid-March, it had spread around the world. Now, health officials and researchers are evaluating why the organization’s warning system failed and how to overhaul it. Many say the o...