Written by: Zohair Ahmed Edited by: Esther Melamed The genome of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, codes for structural and non-structural proteins (ex: proteins mediating the virus’ life cycle). The structural proteins include the envelope (E) protein, spike (S) protein, nucleocapsid (N) protein, and the membrane (M) protein. The S protein plays a critical role in the virus’s ability to enter human cells by mediating recognition of the angiotensin 2 (ACE2) receptor on human cells and directing fusion with the human cell membrane. The S protein is trimeric (made of three protein …
The Gut Microbiota and COVID-19 Severity
Written by: Nadia Siles Edited by: Esther Melamed For years now, we have known that our gut microbiota, the millions of microorganisms that inhabit our digestive tract, is primarily shaped by our diet, environment, and genes. The numerous interactions between our microbiota and our body are complex and bidirectional, to say the least. And in the past decade, mounting evidence has shown that our gut microbiota influences our immune system, as there appears to be a back-and-forth relationship between the gut microbiota and immune homeostasis in our body. Although SARS-CoV-2 primarily …
A New Year of COVID
Written by: Sam Bazzi Edited by: Esther Melamed At any other time, celebrating the advent of January 1st is a ritual that allows us to reflect on the past 12 months, find hope for the upcoming year, and make resolutions to improve our lives. Unfortunately, SARS-CoV-2 did not get the memo about the new year and its deadly second wave is still reverberating around the country and the world, making the annual transition feel rather arbitrary as we remain in lockdown. Nevertheless it is important to do our best to maintain our new year ritual and the feelings of renewal it would normally …