Are We Doing It?

[momus_98]

Perhaps the answer wasn't obvious before the slight tangent took over from the grey beards among us...

Are the results of our collective folding efforts going to be a part of this first wave of vaccines now going thru final approvals (at least here in the U.S.)?

I apologize for the tangent; that distraction was mine.

Perhaps the answer wasn't obvious before the slight tangent took over from the grey beards among us...

Are the results of our collective folding efforts going to be a part of this first wave of vaccines now going thru final approvals (at least here in the U.S.)?

I think the answer is no. I don't think any of the companies that came up with a vaccine used any results from F@H, but I'd be glad to be proven wrong.

F@H mostly provided base research and project moonshot aims at therapeutics, but not vaccines.

I think F@H is still a viable and very useful effort, but we shouldn't take credit where it isn't due.

HG.

You're right. But I fold anyway. My question at the time was rhetorical. Now that the weather has gotten chillier, my PC folds 24/7.

I am but one person; I do not belong to a team. I fold for the good of it. I was just tired that day I asked my question.

I know it is unlikely that any of the F@H research went into the COVID vaccine. Again, I was tired & annoyed like billions around the world. I just wanted to know.

[PantherX]

FYI, while the current vaccines may not be using the research by F@H, a future vaccine/treatment might:

...Specifically, we find that some of Nsp16’s motions lead to the formation of a ‘cryptic’ pocket in a region of the protein near the active site, but human CMTr1 does not form this pocket! Importantly, when this pocket is open, the active site is closed, meaning Nsp16 likely cannot bind to the necessary molecules that it needs to disguise its genome! Therefore, if someone can develop a small molecule to stick into and wedge open this pocket, it would likely disable the protein. And, we find that Nsp16 proteins of other coronaviruses also have this pocket, so targeting this pocket could knockout other coronaviruses (like SARS, MERS, etc.)...

Source: https://foldingathome.org/2020/12/16/sa ... potential/

[bruce]

If you haven't already done so, read about Project Moonshot. It's focusing on new and better treatments.

The vaccines currently being distributed had completed most of their development cycle and were well into the testing phases before FAH's research publications were released. Nevertheless there are still plenty of areas for fruitful research. Corona viruses evolve over time and we have to be ready for those potential changes. Although nobody really knows yet, there's a pretty good chance that the virus will learn to evade our present treatment plans.