Teen’s project could be possible cure for Covid-191 min read
Reading Time: < 1 minuteWhen it comes to the Covid-19 pandemic, the one question on everyone’s mind is when will we finally have a vaccine that works?
The race to find a cure for the disease has scientists and researchers on their toes, and this 14-year-old Indian teenager from Texas, USA, is inching closer to finding a solution. Anika Chebrolu won the 2020 3M Young Scientist Challenge and a $25,000 prize (18,37,987.50 rupees) for a discovery that could provide a potential cure to Covid-19.
Her invention uses in-silico methodology, which basically means performed on a computer, to discover a molecule that binds itself to a specific protein on the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The binding of the protein will stop it from functioning, she explains.
Anika, who had been researching a lot on pandemics and viruses, said she submitted the project when she was in Class 8, and it wasn’t focused on Covid-19.
Now, with the help of her mentor, she will change directions to specifically target the virus.
Inspired to help people whom she has seen suffering from the virus around her and in the world, Anika hopes her efforts pay off.
In the future, she aspires to be a medical researcher and professor.
