Biochemistry of COVID-19
The disease COVID-19 has disrupted all of our lives and there is a lot of mis-information and pseudoscience out there, including reference to this ‘bacteria’ by some in the media (really, huh?!?). Scientific communication is one career path some may choose, allowing you to share your knowledge with others, and writing skills are essential for any job. This assignment should help you begin to think about how to research, write and edit a clear and concise summary that anyone with basic scientific knowledge can understand. As with the first assignment, aim for a written piece that one of your peers, or someone with basic scientific knowledge, could understand. The purpose of this assignment is for you to study and examine two membrane proteins that are important for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Corona Virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission. Although the epidemiology, physiology, virology and immunology are all important for context in your introduction (and may be relevant and interesting for your own degree of study), the focus should be the biochemistry of these proteins and their roles in the virus’ structure, function and propagation. Coronavirus entry into host cells is an important target for drug development and treatment options, and having a clear understanding about the proteins at play can help facilitate research in this field.
