Russian scientists managed to completely decipher the first complete genome of the new coronavirus, which they received from an infected patient, a message posted on the website of the Russian Healthcare ministry sad.
The breakthrough achievement was made by specialists of the Research Institute of Influenza named after A.A. Smorodintsev.
Chief research of the institute, Dmitry Lioznov, said that genome sequencing would help to understand the evolution of the virus and the dynamics of its spread. It will also be helpful in the development of vaccines and antiviral drugs for the treatment of coronavirus.
The information, which the Russian scientists have been able to obtain, was sent to the WHO database so that other research groups could have access to it.
The scientists took a photo of the coronavirus. The photo was taken by the staff of the laboratory of the Novosibirsk State Scientific Center for Virology and Biotechnology "Vector." The picture was taken with the use of the negative contrast method on JEM-1400 transmission electron microscope.
The particle size is 100-120 nm. Russian scientists already had the coronavirus gene, which they received from China in January. Back then, the scientists started working on a vaccine against the virus even though they did not have a living strain of the new virus.
In late February, Chinese scientists announced that they had developed a vaccine against coronavirus, but the drug requires further verification and refinement.
There are several research groups in the world that develop the vaccine against COVID-19. In addition to Russian scientists, scientists in China, the USA and Italy are involved in this work. According to the World Health Organization, clinical trials were launched a few days ago. This became possible only two months after scientists managed to analyze the genetic sequence of the virus. However, the vaccine is expected to be widely distributed in the world in no less than 12-18 months.
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