As the Covid19 pandemic progresses, we learn more and more about SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes Covid19.
Here is a collection of links to useful websites that explain what the virus looks like, how it works, how to test for it, what treatments and vaccines are being developed, and more.
Contact us with any suggestions to improve or add to this page at biochemistry@otago.ac.nz.
What does the coronavirus look like and how does it work?
Fighting the invisible enemy
Article featuring beautiful images of the new coronavirus taken using electron microscopes in Australia. (ABC News, 28 April 2020)
A visual guide to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus
Article explaining 'the inner workings of the pathogen that has infected the world'. (Scientific American, July 2020)
Curious to know how the SARS-CoV-2 virus works?
Article summarising what we know so far about the basic properties of the virus and how it interacts with the body. (eLife, updated regularly)
The structure of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2
Animation of a coronavirus and what it is made up of according to scientists. (
Nanographics
, 17 May 2020)
See also
this coronavirus animation
. (
UKRI
, 26 May 2020)
How structural biologists revealed the new coronavirus's structure so quickly
Article about how scientists are figuring out what the coronavirus proteins look like and how they work. (C&EN, 2 May 2020)
Bad news wrapped in protein: inside the coronavirus genome
Article that lists all the proteins that makes up the coronavirus and describes what each protein looks like and does. (The New York Times, 3 April 2020)
The spiky blob seen around the world
Article about how a medical illustrator at the CDC helped to create the iconic representation of the novel coronavirus. (The New York Times, 1 April, 2020)
How to draw the coronavirus
Article about how different artists have decided to make pictures of the coronavirus based on scientific information and artistic licence. (The Paris Review, 18 May 2020)
Receptors for SARS-CoV-2 present in wide variety of human cells
Article about experiments that show that the COVID-19 illness affects not just the lungs but many different organs and cell types. (The Scientist, 29 April 2020)
Testing for Coronavirus
Coronavirus testing - how does it work?
Check out our explanation of how the coronavirus test in New Zealand works.
Coronavirus tests: how they work and what they show
Video about coronavirus tests. (The Guardian, 20 April 2020)
Coronavirus and the race to distribute reliable diagnostics
Article about how international teams quickly made tests for the SARS-CoV-2 virus available at the beginning of the outbreak. (Nature Biotechnology, 19 February 2020)
SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic pipeline
List of all SARS-CoV-2 tests commercially available or in development for the diagnosis of COVID-19 (Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, updated regularly)
Here are the coronavirus testing materials that are in short supply in the US
Article that describes the test for coronavirus and the materials needed for the test. (Quartz, March 26, 2020)
First CRISPR test for the coronavirus approved in the United States
Article about a new test for coronavirus that uses the gene editing technology CRISPR-Cas. (Nature, 8 May 2020)
You can also watch
this video
to understand how it works, or read about the details in
this Nature journal paper
or
this protocol
.
The disappointing truth about antibody testing
Article about how antibodies work, and whether tests for antibodies against coronavirus are useful. (The Verge, 7 May 2020)
Genetics of the Coronavirus
Genomic epidemiology of novel coronavirus - global subsampling
Website that collects genome sequences of SARS-CoV-2 viruses from around the world, tracks the mutations that arise, and shows in pictures the evolutionary relationships of different strains as the pandemic continues. (Nextstrain, updated regularly)
The NZ strains: How the virus got here
Article describing the stories of how different strains of the coronavirus travelled to New Zealand. (Newsroom, 8 May 2020)
The problem with stories about dangerous coronavirus mutations
Article looking at the evidence behind claims that different strains of the new coronavirus exist and are more dangerous. (The Atlantic, 6 May 2020)
COVID-19 data portal
Website that lets researchers share SARS-CoV-2-related data, including virus sequences, virus protein structures, which types of cells the virus infects, and what these cells do when they are infected. (EMBL-EBI, updated regularly)
Possible coronavirus treatments and vaccines
COVID-19 vaccine & therapeutics tracker
Website that lists all vaccines and therapeutic drugs being developed for COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2). (BioRender, updated regularly)
How a llama can neutralise coronaviruses
A scientific paper describing how scientists isolated antibodies from a llama immunised with coronavirus spikes and used them to neutralise coronaviruses. (Cell, 5 May 2020)
Other cool coronavirus stuff
The bumper Toby Morris & Siouxsie Wiles Covid-19 box set
Animations to help teach the community about the virus and what we need to do to stop infections, created by Toby Morris and Siouxsie Wiles. (The Spinoff, 19 May 2020)
Scientific American – the coronavirus pandemic (special edition)
Special, free issue on coronavirus including:
How china's 'Bat Woman' hunted down viruses from SARS to the new coronavirus
,
Three ways to make coronavirus drugs in a hurry
,
Genetic engineering could make a COVID-19 vaccine in months rather than years
,
How the COVID-19 pandemic could end
. (Scientific American, June 2020)
COVID-19 coronavirus resources
Resources and 3D structures of COVID-19 proteins including posters, videos, and colouring in activities. (PDB-101, updated occasionally)
Coronavirus and COVID-19 updates
Website linking to the latest news and research highlights on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19. (Nature, updated regularly)
