Scientists have managed to find out how coronavirus enters the human body, and says the virus acts like a 'wolf in sheep's clothing'.
Researchers at the University of Southampton have created a model of the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes COVID-19, and discovered it uses sugars to trick its way into human cells without being detected.
However, the team found that the virus is not as heavily protected as some others such as HIV.
They say the model will help the process of developing a vaccine by providing 'crucial and encouraging' information.
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Professor Max Crispin, who is leading the team, says the coronavirus has a large number of spikes sticking out of its surface.
It uses these spikes to attach and enter cells in the human body.
These spikes are coated in sugars, known as glycans, which disguise their viral proteins and help them evade the body's immune system.
Professor Crispin said: "By coating themselves in sugars, viruses are like a wolf in sheep's clothing.
"But one of the key findings of our study is that despite how many sugars there are, this coronavirus is not as highly shielded as some other viruses.
"Viruses like HIV, which hang around in one host, have to evade the immune system constantly and they have a really dense coat of glycans as a shield to the immune system.
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"But in the case of the coronavirus the lower shielding by sugars attached to it may reflect that it is a 'hit and run' virus, moving from one person to the next.
"However, the lower glycan density means there are fewer obstacles for the immune system to neutralise the virus with antibodies. So this is a very encouraging message for vaccine development."
The research was carried out using equipment previously provided by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation through the Collaboration for AIDS Vaccine Discovery.
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