Amy S. Gladfelter, PhD, Professor of Biology, HHMI Faculty Scholar, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, "Specific viral RNA drives the SARS CoV-2 nucleocapsid to phase separate"
Similar to ordinary matter, proteins and RNA can also be described to behave in a phase-like state: It may be in a gaseous, a liquid or a solid state. The condensation process is often driven by some “sticky spots”, which step by step glue together the individual molecules. She reports her work on the phase separation of SARS CoV-2 treated with N-protein RNA. This process is temperature dependent and might offer specific target points for potential COVID-19 drug treatments.
