India’s unplanned lockdown unleashed fresh hell for its Adivasis The lockdown imposed in March took the general public by surprise and several sections of society were reeling from it for months. The Adivasis and other forest-dwelling communities, which at 104 million individuals make up 8.6% of the population, were particularly hard hit. Since the Adivasi communities live in remote areas, information about the disease was not adequately available, to begin with. These communities who have been marginalised in terms of access to healthcare were badly hit as Covid-19 impacts people with compromised health conditions and low immunity. A complete lockdown, restricted entry to forests and closed markets are all factors that have increased their vulnerability as they depend on the forests for their livelihoods and several other purposes. The absence of government support worsens their position, the writer of the article says.
New research: Coronavirus spike protein imaged in its natural state
Scientists have made detailed images of the coronavirus spikes in their natural state while they are still attached to the virus, and without using chemical fixatives that might distort their shape. Updated: December 21, 2020 2:20:56 pm
Detailed structure of a spike from a coronavirus that is a milder relative of SARS-CoV-2 (K. Zhang et al., Quarterly Reviews of Biophysics Discovery)
Coronaviruses including SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19, get their name from the “corona” or crown shape created by the protein “spikes” on their surface. These spike proteins bind with human proteins to initiate the process of infection. These spikes have been extensively studied during the pandemic. Now, scientists have made detailed images of those spikes in their natural state while they are still attached to the virus, and without using chemical fixatives that might distort their shape.