Decoys could trick COVID-19, keep humans safe from infection
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The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 infects cells by plugging into a receptor on their surface. Now, by crafting a "decoy" of that receptor, scientists aim to foil the virus's attack.
In a new study, published Aug. 4 in the journal Science, researchers engineered such a decoy and found that the coronavirus bound tightly to the imposter receptor, and once attached, the virus couldn't infect primate cells in a lab dish. The decoy binds to the virus as tightly as a neutralizing antibody, a Y-shaped molecule generated by the immune system to grab the virus and prevent it from infecting cells.
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