Thursday, March 28, 2024
ADVT 
National

UBC researchers find 'weak spot' in COVID-19 virus

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 18 Aug, 2022 01:41 PM
  • UBC researchers find 'weak spot' in COVID-19 virus

VANCOUVER - Researchers at the University of British Columbia have discovered what they are calling a "weak spot" in the virus that causes COVID-19.

A study published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Nature Communications says the "key vulnerability" is found in all major variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Researchers say exploiting that weakness could pave the way for new treatments that would be effective against all strains of the illness that has killed almost 6.5-million people across the globe since it was identified more than two years ago.

The study's senior author, Dr. Sriram Subramaniam, a professor in UBC's faculty of medicine, says the team studied the virus at an atomic level, found the weak spot and identified an antibody fragment that can attach to it and all other variants, including the surging Omicron subvariants.

Antibodies counteract viruses by attaching like a key in a lock and are no longer effective when the virus mutates quickly, but Subramaniam says the weak spot is constant in all seven major variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, allowing one antibody to act as a "master key" capable of overcoming extensive mutations.

Subramaniam says the weak spot and master key identified in the study "unlock a whole new realm of treatment possibilities" that have the potential to be effective against current or future variants of the virus that causes COVID-19.

MORE National ARTICLES

Possible attempted abduction in Abbotsford, B.C.

Possible attempted abduction in Abbotsford, B.C.
A statement from Const. Jody Thomas says an unknown man tried to pull the youngster from a ground floor bedroom window of a home on Abbotsford's east side. It happened just before 9 p.m. Monday.

Possible attempted abduction in Abbotsford, B.C.

Sept. rate hike expected despite slowing inflation

Sept. rate hike expected despite slowing inflation
Still, inflation is well above the Bank of Canada’s two per cent target. Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem made that very point in an op-ed published by the National Post on Tuesday, saying inflation "remains far too high" and emphasizing the central bank's role in bringing inflation down.

Sept. rate hike expected despite slowing inflation

The ArriveCan conundrum: Does the app have a use?

The ArriveCan conundrum: Does the app have a use?
The glitch-prone app touted as an efficient border tool early in the pandemic has become a punching bag for critics who question its utility ⁠ — but ArriveCan may be here to stay. The government insists it's a useful tool. Critics say it has outlived its use, if it ever had one.

The ArriveCan conundrum: Does the app have a use?

Wolf escape at B.C. zoo suspected as 'malicious'

Wolf escape at B.C. zoo suspected as 'malicious'
Earlier, British Columbia's Environment Ministry had said that only one wolf was still missing at the zoo, located about 55 kilometres east of Vancouver in the community of Aldergrove. It did not say how many had escaped at the facility, which says it has nine adult grey wolves and six cubs.  

Wolf escape at B.C. zoo suspected as 'malicious'

String of overnight fires being investigated by Surrey RCMP, fires started deliberately

String of overnight fires being investigated by Surrey RCMP, fires started deliberately
Based on the initial information it appears that the fires were deliberately started.  Due to the short time frame and close proximity of the fires police believe that they are likely related.

String of overnight fires being investigated by Surrey RCMP, fires started deliberately

10,000 drug deaths since B.C. emergency: coroner

10,000 drug deaths since B.C. emergency: coroner
New data from the coroner's service says at least 1,095 residents are believed to have died from January to June this year, at an average of six deaths per day. The report found more than three-quarters of the those who died this year have been male, and most were between the ages of 30 and 59.

10,000 drug deaths since B.C. emergency: coroner