Biophysicists' continued outstanding response to COVID-19

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Tamar Schlick, New York University; Eric Sundberg, Emory University; Susan J Schroeder, University of Oklahoma; Madan M Babu, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital
• Language: English
• Date: 2021-07-21
• Publisher: CELL PRESS
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2021 Biophysical Society.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2021.06.019
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: BIOPHYSICAL JOURNAL
• Volume: 120
• Issue: 14
• Start Page: E01
• End Page: E01
• Keywords: Science & Technology; Biophysics; Life Sciences & Biomedicine
• Research Categories: Chemistry, Biochemistry

Abstract

As we head into a promising summer in some parts of the world after an unprecedented pandemic year, it is astounding to recall the rapid progress of science from the time we first heard about a mysterious respiratory illness with an alarming infection and death rate in China’s Hubei Province at the end of 2019. Already, we are witnessing massive vaccination campaigns against this deadly COVID-19 disease, and many of us are returning to our workplaces and in-person activities, spiriting a more hopeful view into the future. Scientists across numerous disciplines have shifted research gears to aid in understanding the spread of the infection, determining optimal protocols to protect ourselves with cloth coverings and physical distancing, developing rapid and inexpensive tests for COVID-19, repurposing known drugs to combat the disease, inventing new drugs, and unraveling the complex and multifarious biophysical aspects of the virus life cycle and infection trajectory. This amassed knowledge along with related prior research on RNAs, proteins, and other biomolecules has been instrumental to the success of the current vaccines. It is likely that this remarkable momentum of research will continue and will be invaluable for better handling of future epidemics that inevitably will arise. Much work remains to be done to manage COVID-19 around the globe, but the scientific progress to date provides cause for optimism.