Researchers take new approach to fight against COVID-19 | Times of Oman

Researchers take new approach to fight against COVID-19 | Times of Oman

Durham (UK): For a normal person, the loops, kinks and folds in the single strand of RNA that makes up the coronavirus genome might look like a bowl of spaghetti. However, to researchers like Amanda Hargrove, who is a chemistry professor at Duke University, the complex shaped RNA had untapped therapeutic potential in the fight against COVID-19. Hargrove and her colleagues had identified chemical compounds that could latch onto these 3D structures and block the virus's ability to replicate. The findings of this study were published in the 'Science Advances Journal'. "These are the first molecules with an antiviral activity that target the virus's RNA specifically, so it's a totally new mechanism in that sense," Hargrove said. Even more than 18 months into the pandemic, that's good news. We have vaccines to prevent COVID-19, but effective, easy-to-administer drugs to help people survive and recover once they've been infected remained limited. The virus is receding in some parts of the world, but cases are still surging in others where vaccines are in short supply. And even in regions with easy access to vaccines, COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy meant many of the world's eight billion people remained vulnerable to infection. To infect your