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.
Contact us with any suggestions to improve or add to this page at biochemistry@otago.ac.nz.
What does the coronavirus look like and how does it work?
![Link to electron micrograph of coronavirus](https://www.otago.ac.nz/__data/assets/image/0014/315302/link-to-electron-micrograph-of-coronavirus-737488.png)
Fighting the invisible enemy
Article featuring beautiful images of the new coronavirus taken using electron microscopes in Australia. (ABC News, 28 April 2020)
![Link to visual guide to coronavirus](https://www.otago.ac.nz/__data/assets/image/0024/305547/link-to-visual-guide-to-coronavirus-739441.png)
A visual guide to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus
Article explaining 'the inner workings of the pathogen that has infected the world'. (Scientific American, July 2020)
![Link to eLife coronavirus info](https://www.otago.ac.nz/__data/assets/image/0008/302201/link-to-elife-coronavirus-info-737489.png)
Curious to know how the SARS-CoV-2 virus works?
Article summarising what we know so far about the basic properties of the virus and how it interacts with the body. (eLife, updated regularly)
![Link to Nanographics coronavirus picture](https://www.otago.ac.nz/__data/assets/image/0014/312512/link-to-nanographics-coronavirus-picture-737491.png)
The structure of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2
Animation of a coronavirus and what it is made up of according to scientists. (
Nanographics
, 17 May 2020)
See also
this coronavirus animation
. (
UKRI
, 26 May 2020)
![Link to three coronavirus protein structures](https://www.otago.ac.nz/__data/assets/image/0017/315332/link-to-three-coronavirus-protein-structures-737493.png)
How structural biologists revealed the new coronavirus's structure so quickly
Article about how scientists are figuring out what the coronavirus proteins look like and how they work. (C&EN, 2 May 2020)
![Link to NYT coronavirus](https://www.otago.ac.nz/__data/assets/image/0031/280867/link-to-nyt-coronavirus-737492.png)
Bad news wrapped in protein: inside the coronavirus genome
Article that lists all the proteins that makes up the coronavirus and describes what each protein looks like and does. (The New York Times, 3 April 2020)
![Link to iconic coronavirus picture](https://www.otago.ac.nz/__data/assets/image/0015/305034/link-to-iconic-coronavirus-picture-737490.png)
The spiky blob seen around the world
Article about how a medical illustrator at the CDC helped to create the iconic representation of the novel coronavirus. (The New York Times, 1 April, 2020)
![Link to coronavirus colouring in](https://www.otago.ac.nz/__data/assets/image/0013/301711/link-to-coronavirus-colouring-in-737487.png)
How to draw the coronavirus
Article about how different artists have decided to make pictures of the coronavirus based on scientific information and artistic licence. (The Paris Review, 18 May 2020)
![Link to cell types infected by coronavirus](https://www.otago.ac.nz/__data/assets/image/0023/315185/link-to-cell-types-infected-by-coronavirus-737486.png)
Receptors for SARS-CoV-2 present in wide variety of human cells
Article about experiments that 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
![Covid19 nasopharynx swab_250](https://www.otago.ac.nz/__data/assets/image/0023/297005/covid19-nasopharynx-swab_250-738918.png)
Coronavirus testing - how does it work?
Check out our explanation of how the coronavirus test in New Zealand works.
![Link to guardian testing article](https://www.otago.ac.nz/__data/assets/image/0026/300779/link-to-guardian-testing-article-737736.png)
Coronavirus tests: how they work and what they show
Video about coronavirus tests. (The Guardian, 20 April 2020)
![Link to nature testing article](https://www.otago.ac.nz/__data/assets/image/0009/301032/link-to-nature-testing-article-737737.png)
Coronavirus and the race to distribute reliable diagnostics
Article about how international teams quickly made tests for the SARS-CoV-2 virus available at the beginning of the outbreak. (Nature Biotechnology, 19 February 2020)
![Link to FIND](https://www.otago.ac.nz/__data/assets/image/0028/256609/link-to-find-737738.png)
SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic pipeline
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)
![Link to quartz testing shortage article](https://www.otago.ac.nz/__data/assets/image/0022/312574/link-to-quartz-testing-shortage-article-737739.png)
Here are the coronavirus testing materials that are in short supply in the US
Article that describes the test for coronavirus and the materials needed for the test. (Quartz, March 26, 2020)
![Link to crispr-cas test article](https://www.otago.ac.nz/__data/assets/image/0019/301636/link-to-crispr-cas-test-article-737740.png)
First CRISPR test for the coronavirus approved in the United States
Article about a new test for coronavirus that uses the gene editing technology CRISPR-Cas. (Nature, 8 May 2020)
You can also watch
this video
to understand how it works, or read about the details in
this Nature journal paper
or
this protocol
.
![Link to verge antibody testing article](https://www.otago.ac.nz/__data/assets/image/0019/308251/link-to-verge-antibody-testing-article-737741.png)
The disappointing truth about antibody testing
Article about how antibodies work, and whether tests for antibodies against coronavirus are useful. (The Verge, 7 May 2020)
Genetics of the Coronavirus
![Link to nextstrain](https://www.otago.ac.nz/__data/assets/image/0031/274189/link-to-nextstrain-737742.png)
Genomic epidemiology of novel coronavirus - global subsampling
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)
![Link to nextstrain NZ](https://www.otago.ac.nz/__data/assets/image/0032/281876/link-to-nextstrain-nz-737743.png)
The NZ strains: How the virus got here
Article describing the stories of how different strains of the coronavirus travelled to New Zealand. (Newsroom, 8 May 2020)
![Link to atlantic mutation article](https://www.otago.ac.nz/__data/assets/image/0022/304672/link-to-atlantic-mutation-article-737744.png)
The problem with stories about dangerous coronavirus mutations
Article looking at the evidence behind claims that different strains of the new coronavirus exist and are more dangerous. (The Atlantic, 6 May 2020)
![Link to covid-19 data portal](https://www.otago.ac.nz/__data/assets/image/0030/295428/link-to-covid-19-data-portal-737745.png)
COVID-19 data portal
Website that lets researchers share SARS-CoV-2-related data, including virus sequences, virus protein structures, which types of cells the virus infects, and what these cells do when they are infected. (EMBL-EBI, updated regularly)
Possible coronavirus treatments and vaccines
![Link to biorender list](https://www.otago.ac.nz/__data/assets/image/0029/283754/link-to-biorender-list-737746.png)
COVID-19 vaccine & therapeutics tracker
Website that lists all vaccines and therapeutic drugs being developed for COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2). (BioRender, updated regularly)
![Link to llama antibody article](https://www.otago.ac.nz/__data/assets/image/0009/301203/link-to-llama-antibody-article-737747.png)
How a llama can neutralise coronaviruses
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 cool coronavirus stuff
![Link to spinoff animations](https://www.otago.ac.nz/__data/assets/image/0028/290872/link-to-spinoff-animations-737748.png)
The bumper Toby Morris & Siouxsie Wiles Covid-19 box set
Animations to help teach the community about the virus and what we need to do to stop infections, created by Toby Morris and Siouxsie Wiles. (The Spinoff, 19 May 2020)
![Link to sci am issue](https://www.otago.ac.nz/__data/assets/image/0029/275915/link-to-sci-am-issue-737749.png)
Scientific American – the coronavirus pandemic (special edition)
Special, free issue on coronavirus including:
How china's 'Bat Woman' hunted down viruses from SARS to the new coronavirus
,
Three ways to make coronavirus drugs in a hurry
,
Genetic engineering could make a COVID-19 vaccine in months rather than years
,
How the COVID-19 pandemic could end
. (Scientific American, June 2020)
![Link to pdb101 coronavirus](https://www.otago.ac.nz/__data/assets/image/0028/291637/link-to-pdb101-coronavirus-737750.png)
COVID-19 coronavirus resources
Resources and 3D structures of COVID-19 proteins including posters, videos, and colouring in activities. (PDB-101, updated occasionally)
![Link to nature coronavirus news](https://www.otago.ac.nz/__data/assets/image/0010/301105/link-to-nature-coronavirus-news-737751.png)
Coronavirus and COVID-19 updates
Website linking to the latest news and research highlights on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19. (Nature, updated regularly)
![Link to ukri coronavirus](https://www.otago.ac.nz/__data/assets/image/0034/288682/link-to-ukri-coronavirus-737752.png)