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SINGAPORE – The search for antibodies that can neutralise the coronavirus in a Covid-19 patient can be like looking for a needle in a haystack, but researchers in Singapore have prevailed.
They have found antibodies, a key element of the human immune system, that bind to four important sites of the coronavirus.
In binding to these sites, the antibodies prevent the virus from either hijacking a human cell, or replicating inside of it.
These findings by scientists from the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID) and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*Star) were announced at a virtual press conference on Friday morning (July 17).
Their discovery could pave the way for better diagnostics, to identify people who recover from the infection without symptoms, for example, or lead to improved treatment for patients.
It could also guide vaccine discovery, or validate the effectiveness of one, the researchers said.
Professor Leo Yee Sin, executive director of NCID, said Sars-CoV-2 – the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 – has challenged the international scientific community with numerous unsolved questions.
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