New Hope in Fighting COVID-19: Scientists Tweak Molecule Design

Scientists are working on new ways to fight COVID-19. They are making changes to a special molecule called N, N'-diphenylurea. This molecule can stop the virus from making copies of itself. But it has some problems. It doesn't dissolve well in water and can be harmful to cells. So, they made 27 new versions of this molecule. They wanted to fix the problems. Seven of these new versions dissolve better in water. Nine of them are better at stopping the virus from copying itself. The best one is 34% effective. But there's still a problem. They can still be harmful to cells. This is important work. It helps scientists understand how to make better molecules. These molecules could be used to make medicines that fight COVID-19. But there's still more work to do. They need to make sure the molecules are safe and effective.