VIRUSES (2009/2020)

Hidden transmission patterns of the infections 

With the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, the BarabásiLab turned its attention to identify drugs that can cure COVID-19 patients. The SARS-COV-2 virus hijacks cells by attacking selected human proteins. By finding drugs that block the human proteins the virus needs, we can limit the virus’s ability to invade our cells. The BarabásiLab has identified several hundred potential drugs and with colleagues at Harvard and Boston University, experimentally tested these predictions. The large networks on the wall show the region of the subcellular network attacked by the virus while those on the windows show the relationship between the predicted drugs with strong, weak or very weak effect on the virus.

The glass cubes correspond to 28 drugs predicted and experimentally confirmed to effectively kill the virus, called strong drugs. The laser-engraved sub-networks show the region of the human protein interaction networks used by the algorithms to predict the efficacy of the corresponding drug. These works, together with those shown in the Mobility room, highlight the multiple networks that play a role in the COVID-19 pandemic, from the mobility and social networks that supported its spread, to the subcellular networks that aid the virus’s ability to infect our cells. They demonstrate the vital need for network thinking to conquer the pandemic.