Top Australian data scientists are using virtual reality modelling to study the coronavirus and help fast-track the development of a vaccine.<\/p>\n
The global quest to find a cure has been an enormous team effort, with scientists from a range of different backgrounds coming together to offer their expertise.<\/p>\n
One of those groups is the Data61 research team at the CSIRO.<\/p>\n
Using computer modelling, the researchers have generated a 3D replica of the coronavirus to try to understand how the disease behaves.<\/p>\n
Dr Michael Kuiper, team leader of Data61s molecular and materials modelling group, said there were many different ways to attack the virus and their approach was just one of them.<\/p>\n
If youre an engineer looking at a machine, you need to figure out how it all fits together, Dr Kuiper told The New Daily.<\/p>\n
This is the beauty of digital science it can really help put perspective and interpretation into whats going on.<\/p>\n
Dr Kuipers team has been building models of the coronaviruss spike protein the part that latches onto human cells and simulating them on a computer to analyse them from all angles.<\/p>\n
What virtual reality brings to the table is basically allowing our researchers to interact with these structures and get a much more comprehensive view of them, he said.<\/p>\n
Experimental work is very expensive and so is developing new drugs, but if I can test it first and have trust in my model then I can tell the chemist, Ive tried these molecules and this is the best.<\/p>\n
You can speed up a lot of development time if you know what youre looking at.<\/p>\n
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The goal of the coronavirus is to survive, and that means infecting as many people as possible.<\/p>\n
To do this, part of the diseases protein is disguised as a human cell to try to trick our immune systems.<\/p>\n
Its disguising itself from the immune system like a camouflage, which is why developing a vaccine has been so tricky because the coronavirus is covering itself up, Dr Kuiper said.<\/p>\n
The thing about the immune system is, you dont want to attack yourself, so it makes itself look more like a human cell.<\/p>\n
As part of their mission to help find a cure, Dr Kuipers team has also been analysing how the coronavirus is changing as it spreads around the world.<\/p>\n
When a protein has a certain shape, thats when the immune system recognises it, he said.<\/p>\n
But when it mutates, it is slightly different so the immune system may not recognise it the second time around.<\/p>\n
It has lots of components its a more complicated virus than others but any of them could be an achilles heel where you could find a drug that could inhibit one of those proteins.<\/p>\n
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How virtual reality is being used to help find a cure for the coronavirus - The New Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Top Australian data scientists are using virtual reality modelling to study the coronavirus and help fast-track the development of a vaccine. The global quest to find a cure has been an enormous team effort, with scientists from a range of different backgrounds coming together to offer their expertise. Continue reading