The researchers at Sidra Medicine in Qatar have identified sites where mutations do not arise in the emerging corona virus, "Covid-19,", thus paving the way for the creation of a future vaccine that can treat mutated strains of the virus.

Sidra Medicine said in a statement issued on its website that the emergence of mutations in the Corona virus - whose scientific name is SARS-CoV-2 - is the greatest fear, as it can lead to resistance to drugs or a vaccine.

Although most of the mutations are likely to have a negative effect on the function of the virus, some of them give the virus a great advantage that helps it spread and spread more quickly.

And many people infected with "Covid-19" suffer from symptoms such as sneezing, which can lead to the spread of the virus more widely.

The statement said that in "Covid-19", the Corona virus mutates about twice every month, which is almost half the rate of the common influenza virus, and despite the low level of mutational activity, tens of thousands of them continue to be documented, some of which lead to "strains" or "mutated strains." It spreads among humans more viciously, and it leads to hospitalizations.

Dr. Navaneth Krishnamurthy - a researcher in molecular biochemistry - along with the head of the research department at Sidra Medicine, Dr. Khaled Fakhro, have developed models of mutations in the basic protein of the "Covid-19" virus.

Dr. Krishnamurthy and Dr. Fakhro spent several months analyzing more than 19,000 mutations spread around the world in the basic viral protein of corona "protease" in order to identify the "cold points" of the mutations, and they succeeded in determining a map of the "cold points" of the mutations. These points are ideal locations to target the Coronavirus.

The study was published in the International Federation of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology "Life".

Futuristic approach

Dr Krishnamurthy said, "It is a futuristic approach because we have found conserved local patterns (common among the family of corona viruses) near mutant-free sites, which can be effectively targeted now and in the future when similar viruses emerge, and identifying these cold spots and their shortlist lead to a new perspective for targeting a virus Corona while avoiding resistance to drugs based on mutations, and the study identified the optimal sites for targeting, and opened new ways to create antivirals that work on sites free of mutations. This important work also derives its importance from its value, as it is also important in its timing, as major countries around the world launch Vaccines and drugs are being tested or are working in the approval phase for anti-COVID-19 agents.

Dr. Fakhro concluded his speech by saying, "The process of confronting Covid-19 is constantly evolving, and to overcome this global challenge in the field of health care in such difficult times we must understand the viral defense mechanism for such mutations, and our results expand this understanding and align with Sidra Medicine's ambition in ... Introducing precision medicine. "