More information about the new coronavirus
As the Covid19 pandemic progresses, we learn more and more about SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes Covid19.
Here is a collection of links to useful websites that explain what the virus looks like, how it works, how to test for it, what treatments and vaccines are being developed, and more.
What does the coronavirus look like and how does it work?
Features beautiful images of the new coronavirus taken using electron microscopes in Australia. (ABC News, 28 April 2020)
Summarises what we know so far about the basic properties of the virus and how it interacts with the body. (eLife, updated regularly)
From Dr Janet Iwasa’s animation research lab.
How scientists are figuring out what the coronavirus proteins look like and how they work. (C&EN, 2 May 2020)
List of all the proteins that make up the coronavirus and what each protein looks like and does. (The New York Times, 3 April 2020)
How a medical illustrator at the CDC helped to create the iconic representation of the novel coronavirus. (The New York Times, 1 April, 2020)
How different artists have decided to make pictures of the coronavirus based on scientific information and artistic licence. (The Paris Review, 18 May 2020)
Experiments show that the COVID-19 illness affects not just the lungs but many different organs and cell types. (The Scientist, 29 April 2020)
Testing for Coronavirus
Check out our explanation of how the PCR coronavirus test in New Zealand works.
About coronavirus tests. (The Guardian, 20 April 2020) Coronavirus and the race to distribute reliable diagnostics
How international teams quickly made tests for the SARS-CoV-2 virus available at the beginning of the outbreak. (Nature Biotechnology, 19 February 2020)
List of all SARS-CoV-2 tests commercially available or in development for the diagnosis of COVID-19 (Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics, updated regularly)
Description of the test for coronavirus and the materials needed for the it. (Quartz, March 26, 2020)
About a new test for coronavirus that uses the gene editing technology CRISPR-Cas. (Nature, 8 May 2020)
How antibodies work, and whether tests for antibodies against coronavirus are useful. (The Verge, 7 May 2020)
Genetics of the Coronavirus
Website that collects genome sequences of SARS-CoV-2 viruses from around the world, tracks the mutations that arise, and shows in pictures the evolutionary relationships of different strains as the pandemic continues. (Nextstrain, updated regularly)
Description of the stories of how different strains of the coronavirus travelled to New Zealand. (Newsroom, 8 May 2020)
Article looking at the evidence behind claims that different strains of the new coronavirus exist and are more dangerous. (The Atlantic, 6 May 2020)
Possible coronavirus treatments and vaccines
Website that lists all vaccines and therapeutic drugs being developed for COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2). (BioRender, updated regularly)
A scientific paper describing how scientists isolated antibodies from a llama immunised with coronavirus spikes and used them to neutralise coronaviruses. (Cell, 5 May 2020)
Other coronavirus stuff
Coronavirus coverage from Scientific American, featuring news and articles about advances in the field.
Resources and 3D structures of COVID-19 proteins including posters, videos, and colouring in activities. (PDB-101, updated occasionally)
Website providing evidence and facts about the virus, the disease, the epidemic, and its control. (UKRI, updated regularly)
Other useful links:
