The coronavirus might have weak spots--and machine learning could help find them – IAM Network

Amino acids are critical to the structure of proteins, which are often visualized as 3D ribbon structures. Northeastern biochemists are studying the chemistry of amino acids within SARS-CoV-2 to predict the reactions they enable. Chemically speaking, proteins might be the most sophisticated molecules out there. Millions of different kinds of them live within our cells and work together as a fine-tuned orchestra catalyzing the biochemical reactions that keep us alive. Few things in the world would function without proteins--not the cells within your body, and certainly not SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus responsible for COVID-19.