The institute will be able to handle a thousand corona tests a day *Scientists of the Weizmann Institute of Science have brought order to the flow of information about the originator of the global epidemic
Following an agreement signed this morning between the Ministry of Health and the Weizmann Institute of Science, the Weizmann Institute yesterday (Friday) began conducting tests for the diagnosis of Corona. The tests will be carried out at the Israeli National Center for Personalized Medicine named after Nancy and Steven Grand, which was established and operates at the Weizmann Institute of Science. This center operates, among other things, an advanced, world-class laboratory, which includes advanced PCR devices capable of quickly and efficiently identifying genes.
The president of the Weizmann Institute of Science, Prof. Alon Chen: "The Weizmann Institute of Science is an integral part of Israeli society, and we consider ourselves a duty and a privilege to help and contribute to the state and people of Israel's dealings with the global corona crisis. In this time of crisis, we harness our abilities in the field of basic research, and use them for the welfare of humanity."
How the corona virus has changed over the years
Numerical data sometimes illuminates facts that are hidden in the huge flow of information that comes to us from different directions. Prof. Ron Milo and research student Yanon Bar-On in the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences at the Weizmann Institute of Science, together with partners from the United States, recently implemented an original research method, and succeeded in putting the flow of information about the corona virus into an orderly framework.
The scientists examined hundreds of studies carried out in different parts of the world. In the first stage, they had to get to the bottom of the various measurement and estimation methods, so that they could coordinate and translate all the findings into the same "language". This is precise and sophisticated work, which must be done very carefully. Here, their experience in translating and unifying many data and findings, which they had accumulated in previous studies on the number of cells in the human body, on the distribution of biomass on Earth, and more, helped them.
The research was published in an accelerated process in the scientific journal eLife. One of the interesting results collected by the scientists is the degree of similarity between the genome of the corona virus and the genome of other viruses of the corona family: 96% of the genome of the corona virus is the same as the genome of the corona virus that attacks bats; 91% of it is the same as the genome of the pangolin-attacking corona virus; 80% of it - the same as the erupting virus we knew about two decades ago - Sars; 55% of it is the same as the outbreak virus we knew eight years ago - MERS and 50% of it is the same as the corona virus that causes "colds".
The scientists also present accurate numerical data on the areas of attachment - and damage - of the virus to different body organs (bronchi, lungs, different types of cells, etc.). An important result highlighted in the survey is focused on the number of copies and other quantitative properties of a "bank of targets" on the surface of the virus and within it - targets to which it will be possible to direct antibodies and medicinal substances, which will inhibit the ability of the virus to adhere to the body's cells and penetrate them.
In the study, the scientists also refer to the accumulation rate of the virus's mutations (a figure that represents the chance or risk that the virus will "bypass" vaccine components that will be developed against it - and return to attack humans). It turns out that the rate of accumulation of mutations of the corona virus is relatively slow to that of the flu viruses. Prof. Milo cautiously estimates that this fact may indicate that drugs and vaccine components developed by scientists will be durable and effective in containing the virus over time.
More of the topic in Hayadan:
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A pangolin is not an anteater
Lots of probabilities, lots of talk and philosophizing, we'll see the geniuses of the Weizmann Institute bring the news and prove that the Weizmann Institute is not only a reputation but also a real solution to the global horror!!!!