Computational strategies to combat COVID-19: useful tools to accelerate SARS-CoV-2 and coronavirus research

SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) is a novel virus of the family Coronaviridae. The virus causes the infectious disease COVID-19. The biology of coronaviruses has been studied for many years. However, bioinformatics tools designed explicitly for SARS-CoV-2 have only recently been developed as a rapid reaction to the need for fast detection, understanding and treatment of COVID-19. To control the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it is of utmost importance to get insight into the evolution and pathogenesis of the virus. In this review, we cover bioinformatics workflows and tools for the routine detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection, the reliable analysis of sequencing data, the tracking of the COVID-19 pandemic and evaluation of containment measures, the study of coronavirus evolution, the discovery of potential drug targets and development of therapeutic strategies. For each tool, we briefly describe its use case and how it advances research specifically for SARS-CoV-2. All tools are free to use and available online, either through web applications or public code repositories.Peer Reviewe

Gamow-Teller Strength in the A=14 Multiplet: A Challenge to the Shell Model

A new experimental approach to the famous problem of the anomalously slow Gamow-Teller (GT) transitions in the {beta} decay of the A = 14 multiplet is presented. The GT strength distributions to excited states in {sup 14}C and {sup 14}O was studied in high-resolution (d,{sup 2}He) and ({sup 3}He,t) charge-exchange reactions on {sup 14}N. No-core shell-model (NCSM) calculations capable of reproducing the suppression of the {beta} decays predict a selective excitation of J{sup {pi}} = 2{sup +} states. The experimental confirmation represents a validation of the assumptions about the underlying structure of the {sup 14}N ground state wave function. However, the fragmentation of the GT strength over three 2{sup +} final states remains a fundamental issue not explained by the present NCSM using a 6 {h_bar}{omega} model space, suggesting possibly the need to include cluster structure in these light nuclei in a consistent way

Gamow-Teller strengths in the A=14 multiplet: A challenge to the shell model

A new experimental approach to the famous problem of the anomalously slow Gamow-Teller (GT) transitions in the beta decay of the A=14 multiplet is presented. The GT strength distributions to excited states in C-14 and O-14 were studied in high-resolution (d,He-2) and (He-3,t) charge-exchange reactions on N-14. No-core shell-model calculations capable of reproducing the suppression of the beta decays predict a selective excitation of J(pi)=2(+) states. The experimental confirmation represents a validation of the assumptions about the underlying structure of the N-14 ground state wave function. However, the fragmentation of the GT strength over three 2(+) final states remains a fundamental issue not explained by the present no-core shell model using a 6h omega model space, suggesting possibly the need to include cluster structure in these light nuclei in a consistent way