ERIC Number: EJ1442573
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023-Mar
Pages: 6
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0021-9584
EISSN: EISSN-1938-1328
Using PyMOL to Understand Why COVID-19 Vaccines Save Lives
Journal of Chemical Education, v100 n3 p1351-1356 2023
Chemistry and biochemistry instructors must help students to develop the ability to visualize and manipulate 3D biomolecular structures and critically analyze them and their relationship to their functions. To do this, representative systems must be strategically selected to stimulate students' motivation. Since the World Health Organization declared a global pandemic caused by a new beta-coronavirus, called SARS-CoV-2 in early 2020, huge efforts are being taken by researchers to learn in depth how this virus works and a lot of scientific results are continuously reported. Many of them focus on the structural features of the viral spike glycoprotein and their relation with the vaccine development. This paper presents a series of workouts that deep in to the structural characteristics of the spike protein S SARS-CoV-2 virus and the structural features involved in its infection process, using free online resources such as the PDB and the computer program PyMOL. This type of activity is intended to engage structural biology students in examining these macromolecules and others to help establish procedures for controlling COVID-19 and other future infectious diseases. PyMOL session files and student activities are provided.
Descriptors: COVID-19, Immunization Programs, Biochemistry, Undergraduate Study, Open Educational Resources, Molecular Structure, Science Instruction
Division of Chemical Education, Inc. and ACS Publications Division of the American Chemical Society. 1155 Sixteenth Street NW, Washington, DC 20036. Tel: 800-227-5558; Tel: 202-872-4600; e-mail: eic@jce.acs.org; Web site: http://pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A