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COVID-19 / Re: can i have a full run down on spike protiens please?
« on: 18/03/2023 20:53:04 »
I think that "spike protein" only hit the public press since COVID hit the public press in early 2020.
Google ngram says discussion about "spike protein" has been around a lot longer:
ngram_Spike_protein.png (13.15 kB . 1076x378 - viewed 1943 times)
https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=spike+protein&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=en-2019&smoothing=3
The Coronavirus family of viruses is notable for their crown-shaped appearance under an electron microscope, with spikes sticking out, like a jewelled crown ("corona" comes from Latin, and means "crown"). These spikes are how coronaviruses mate with cells, and then enter them to infect them. The proteins which make up these spike are called Spike (S) proteins.
Other viruses have a variety of different shapes, and different mechanisms for entering a cell.
- Tobacco Mosaic Virus (one of the first to have its structure deduced, using X-Ray crystallography). It looks like a packet of cigarettes (no spike), when crystallised.
- Ebola looks like a bowl of spaghetti (no visible spike)
- Influenza virus does have projecting proteins, but they are described as hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N) proteins, hence variants of influenza are described like H5N1.
>correction from bored chemist
Google ngram says discussion about "spike protein" has been around a lot longer:
ngram_Spike_protein.png (13.15 kB . 1076x378 - viewed 1943 times)
https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=spike+protein&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=en-2019&smoothing=3
The Coronavirus family of viruses is notable for their crown-shaped appearance under an electron microscope, with spikes sticking out, like a jewelled crown ("corona" comes from Latin, and means "crown"). These spikes are how coronaviruses mate with cells, and then enter them to infect them. The proteins which make up these spike are called Spike (S) proteins.
Other viruses have a variety of different shapes, and different mechanisms for entering a cell.
- Tobacco Mosaic Virus (one of the first to have its structure deduced, using X-Ray crystallography). It looks like a packet of cigarettes (no spike), when crystallised.
- Ebola looks like a bowl of spaghetti (no visible spike)
- Influenza virus does have projecting proteins, but they are described as hemagglutinin (H) and neuraminidase (N) proteins, hence variants of influenza are described like H5N1.
>correction from bored chemist
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