Page 20 - Covid 26 July 2021

mediates the entry of the virus into the host cell and is also the site where neutralising antibodies produced by the host cells bind to the virus in order to inactivate it.
The team observed that around 68 per cent of the S proteins exist in open conformation at physiological pH 7.4, but their proportion decreases when the pH is slightly higher (pH 8.0) or lower (pH 6.5). This suggests that the interaction between the S protein and receptor is more favoured at physiological pH (pH 7.4) than on either side of the biological pH scale. The study will assist in developing novel therapeutic measures against SARS-CoV-2.
Contact info:
somnath@iisc.ac.in
Website link:
https://www.iisc.ac.in/news-events/iisc-in-the-news/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33932324/
IIT Gandhinagar contributes in prevalence study of SARS-CoV-2 in communities through wastewater surveillance: A potential approach for estimation of disease burden
The episodic outbreak of COVID-19 due to SARS-CoV-2 is severely affecting the economy, and the global count of infected patients is increasing. The actual number of patients had been underestimated due to limited facilities for testing as well as the asymptomatic nature of the expression of COVID-19 on an individual basis. Tragically, for emerging economies with high population density, the situation has been more complex due to insufficient testing facilities for diagnosis of the disease. However, the recent reports about persistent shedding of viral RNA of SARS-CoV-2 in the human faeces have created a possibility to track the prevalence and trends of the disease in communities, known as wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE).
Location of institutions in the world, including the emerging economies, conducting sewage surveillance for early detection of SARS-CoV-2 outbreak
Contact info:
manish.kumar@iitgn.ac.in
Website link:
https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s40726-021-00178-4.pdf
VOL. IV ISSUE 7
VIGYAN PRASAR 16
COVID-19 SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EFFORTS IN INDIA