The building blocks of life. They are complex molecules and are essential for the structure, function, and regulation of the body’s tissues and organs.
Proteins make up about 20% of our bodies by weight. Viral proteins play a major role in invading human cells. The spiky projections on the surface of coronaviruses including SARS-CoV-2 are made up of S (for Spike) proteins. The spikes act like ‘keys’ that enable the virus to enter cells by binding to a protein receptor on the surface of our cells.
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Immune System Infectious Disease