COVID-19
Of the four structural proteins that make up human coronaviruses, the envelope (E) protein is currently the least understood by scientists.
As shelter-in-place mandates lessen, societies may be able to reopen parts of their economies while still curbing overall disease spread by limiting interactions related to increased disease.
More than 65 percent of U.S. households own a pet. Recent research has revealed that, of those pets, mainly ferrets and cats are particularly susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
The COVID-19 outbreak has crystallized the urgent need for therapeutics to better prevent transmission in human populations. Viruses are not living, so they cannot reproduce on their own — they rely on host cells to get the energy, enzymes, and precursors they need to produce the proteins necessary to replicate.
Coronaviruses infect humans by binding to specific proteins, known as receptors, on human cell surfaces.