The Coronavirus Thread

[Sean Hayden]

No shit Sherlock.

[Sean Hayden]

No. They are all rather specific. A selection of targets for HIV, others for hepatitis.

Example
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritonavir

Coronaviruses are in this family
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coronaviridae

And they are RNA based but not retroviruses like HIV.

I found a web site for coronavirus replication, but is a little complicated without pictures.

Some Dr Brilliant --great name-- was saying he was confident one would be developed. HIV is made even trickier by virtue of its incredible mutation rate. I think you were talking about this virus not having quite as high a rate. Hopefully they find something.

[Tero]

Antivirals work by interfering with either thecentry of the virus into a cell or the replication. The virus has to make its own DNA or RNA and some proteins, then assemble all that into a virus. But there may be many steps and enzymes involved. They seem to do a lot with very little.

[Sean Hayden]

Yeah, that's why HIV is such a beast. It will evolve into versions that don't make the mistake the antiviral relies on e.g. see HIV & AZT.

[Tero]

Well, that one can't function without reverse transcriptase. It can't mutate around that.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverse_transcriptase
And it's an enzyme we don't have, so blocking a viral enzyme does no harm to us.

Life is just DNA/RNA and proteins!

[Sean Hayden]

What about telomerase? Isn't that a reverse transcriptase? --probably just a matter of specificity eh? All that machinery cooks my noodle!

[Tero]

Telomerases are only involved with DNA. Certain cells divide a lot and need the ends fixed. Also cancer cells abuse telomerase.

No, there is no function in bacteria or animals that takes RNA, makes DNA of it and does the main business in the nucleus. I think the coronaviruses just hijack RNA synthesis in ribosomes, not dealing with DNA or the nucleus.

Video, with accent and all!

skip to 3:33 for the replication

[Tero]

In text, viral replication of single strand RNA viruses
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viral_rep ... NA_viruses

Coronavirus: Inside the envelope, there is the nucleocapsid, which is formed from multiple copies of the nucleocapsid (N) protein, which are bound to the positive-sense single-stranded RNA genome in a continuous beads-on-a-string type conformation.[13][16] The lipid bilayer envelope, membrane proteins, and nucleocapsid protect the virus when it is outside the host cell.[17]

[Sean Hayden]

Telomerase was first identified biochemically >12 years ago (Greider and Blackburn 1985) and shown to use an extraordinary mode of synthesis, relying on an intrinsic RNA to serve as a template for the polymerization of the telomeric DNA sequences (Greider and Blackburn 1989; Yu et al. 1990).

http://genesdev.cshlp.org/content/12/8/1073.full

[Cunt]

Those Weinstein brothers were going on about telomerase crap in the Portal episode. It seemed important to them.

[Tero]

Telomerase was first identified biochemically >12 years ago (Greider and Blackburn 1985) and shown to use an extraordinary mode of synthesis, relying on an intrinsic RNA to serve as a template for the polymerization of the telomeric DNA sequences (Greider and Blackburn 1989; Yu et al. 1990).

http://genesdev.cshlp.org/content/12/8/1073.full

OK, you would have to look up if there is any connection to RNA viruses that use reverse transcriptase. Like HIV. Coronavirus does not need the nucleus at all.

The reverse transcriptases of viruses and hosts are well characterized.

[Cunt]

Telomerase was first identified biochemically >12 years ago (Greider and Blackburn 1985) and shown to use an extraordinary mode of synthesis, relying on an intrinsic RNA to serve as a template for the polymerization of the telomeric DNA sequences (Greider and Blackburn 1989; Yu et al. 1990).

http://genesdev.cshlp.org/content/12/8/1073.full

OK, you would have to look up if there is any connection to RNA viruses that use reverse transcriptase. Like HIV. Coronavirus does not need the nucleus at all.

The reverse transcriptases of viruses and hosts are well characterized.

Is there such a thing as a clear, simple presence/absence test for virus?

Why can't they trace it up the sewage system? Is it just that it's horrible?

[Sean Hayden]

Telomerase was first identified biochemically >12 years ago (Greider and Blackburn 1985) and shown to use an extraordinary mode of synthesis, relying on an intrinsic RNA to serve as a template for the polymerization of the telomeric DNA sequences (Greider and Blackburn 1989; Yu et al. 1990).

http://genesdev.cshlp.org/content/12/8/1073.full

OK, you would have to look up if there is any connection to RNA viruses that use reverse transcriptase. Like HIV. Coronavirus does not need the nucleus at all.

The reverse transcriptases of viruses and hosts are well characterized.

I think you mean a scientist will have to be safe and look it up. I'm just going to wash my hands.

[Tero]

(To Cunt)
Antibodies take some days to form. The test is easier for your own antibodies against a virus than for the actual virus.

[L'Emmerdeur]

Is there an antibody test that's being used right now? Last I heard it hadn't been approved for clinical use ('New blood tests for antibodies could show true scale of coronavirus pandemic').