Decoding the cellular crime scene
Tricking the viral hijackers
Hacking our own immune system
Rewriting the code of life
007skaty Prefusion Spike Protein Stabilization
Lock the shape, freeze the spike, map the cure
007skaty Mapping the HIV protease structure in 1989 allowed researchers to design saquinavir, a drug that blocked viral replication by 1995.
007skaty Nucleoside analogs act as fake genetic building blocks to stop viral replication
Fastest vaccine: Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the fastest vaccine ever developed was for mumps, taking four years in the 1960s. The mRNA vaccine took under one year.
What is the primary function of the HIV protease enzyme during the virus's life cycle?
007skaty Tracking viruses in bats, birds, and primates lets researchers design broad-spectrum vaccines and antivirals before a spillover event begins.
Which drug was approved by the FDA in 1995 as the first-ever HIV protease inhibitor?
What happens to a virus when it mistakenly incorporates a nucleoside analog drug into its growing genetic chain?
Which Nobel Prize-winning scientist pioneered the development of acyclovir and other decoy drugs in the 1970s and 1980s?
What protective coating is used to deliver fragile mRNA molecules safely into human cells without being destroyed?
Which Hungarian-American scientist spent decades researching mRNA modification, leading to the Nobel Prize in 2023?
Which cellular receptor does the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein bind to in order to gain entry into human lung cells?
What is the name of the genetic tweak that locks viral spike proteins into their pre-fusion shape for modern vaccines?