Date Time
How can we prepare for future pandemics?
EMBL and Portugal gather leading international experts to showcase progress in the fight against COVID-19 and share lessons for the future Thousands of participants from across the globe came together to engage with leading figures from healthcare, academia, and industry. Credit: Holly Joynes/EMBL
On 27 April, participants from more than 100 countries gathered to discuss key lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of an enterprise implemented by Portugal during its presidency of the Council of the EU, EMBL and Portugal brought international experts together for a virtual conference. A wide range of topics were covered, including immunology, infectious diseases, and the molecular biology of viruses. The conference provided a valuable opportunity to ensure that important lessons are not lost in the rush towards a world where life is no longer so dominated by COVID-19.
EMBL scientists identify human proteins hijacked by coronavirus, offering potential drug targets EMBL scientists used a biophysical method called thermal proteome profiling (TPP) to gain a comprehensive overview of which human proteins are functionally altered at different times during SARS-CoV-2 infection. Credit: Holly Joynes/EMBL
A group of scientists led by EMBL’s Mikhail Savitski, Nassos Typas, and Pedro Beltrao, and collaborator Steeve Boulant at Heidelberg University Hospital, have analysed how the novel coronavirus affects proteins in human cells. They identified several human proteins as potential drug targets to prevent viral replication.
The researchers used a biophysical method called thermal proteome profiling (TPP) to gain a comprehensive overview of which human proteins are functionally altered during SARS-CoV-2 infection. TPP monitors protein amounts and denaturation temperatures – the points at which proteins heat up so much that they lose their 3D structure