Coronaviruses owe their name to their “crown” ( corona in Latin), a set of small pointed proteins (called spicules) which line their surface. Under the microscope, viruses seem to be bristling with peaks. These spikes play a fundamental role, because they allow viruses to "hang" on and enter their host cells to inject their genetic material. The cells thus “zombified” then begin to synthesize in turn the new viruses which escape from the cell to go to infect new ones, and so on. It is a procedure that is both extremely vicious and very effective, provided that the conditions are favorable for the virus.
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The precise structure of the spicules, which vary from one coronavirus to another, is fundamental since they are in a way “keys” which adjust more or less well to the “locks” placed on the surface of the cells. The effectiveness of the infection therefore depends on the adequacy of the key and the lock. Conversely,
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