Integrated human/SARS-CoV-2 metabolic models present novel treatment strategies against COVID-19

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) is currently responsible for more than 3 million deaths in 219 countries across the world and with more than 140 million cases. The absence of FDA-approved drugs against SARS-CoV-2 has highlighted an urgent need to design new drugs. We developed an integrated model of the human cell and SARS-CoV-2 to provide insight into the virus'' pathogenic mechanism and support current therapeutic strategies. We show the biochemical reactions required for the growth and general maintenance of the human cell, first, in its healthy state. We then demonstrate how the entry of SARS-CoV-2 into the human cell causes biochemical and structural changes, leading to a change of cell functions or cell death. A new computational method that predicts 20 unique reactions as drug targets from our models and provides a platform for future studies on viral entry inhibition, immune regulation, and drug optimisation strategies. The model is available in BioModels (https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biomodels/MODEL2007210001) and the software tool, findCPcli, that implements the computational method is available at https://github.com/findCP/findCPcli. © 2021 Bannerman et al

Generosity, peer-support, and positive development in youth

In adolescence, many physical, emotional, and cognitive changes bring along their own problems and risks. But they also offer the chance to develop new skills, including those connected with mindfulness, compassion, or generosity. Social relationships can support positive developments. Even in adolescence, family remains important, contributing to the satisfaction of basic needs. Peers can also support positive development and become particularly important in adolescence. With them, young people’s radius widens into a more comprehensive and differentiated social and physical environment. The newly acquired competences also promote the acceptance of responsibility. The social and physical environments become relevant learning fields for the integration of identity, values, and norms. Generosity as part of one’s own identity becomes a touchstone for positive development. In this paper, we discuss several forms and conditions of prosocial behavior as well as of generosity. We assign different internal conditions to “prosocial personality”, ranging from genetic or biological factors to self-efficacy. External factors for prosocial behavior and generosity are described. In everyday life, young people must feel needed and require places to show their new autonomous generosity skills. Being generous not only helps others: it also satisfies one’s own basic needs and thus contributes to positive development and well-being

An exploration of third parties’ preference for compensation over punishment: six experimental demonstrations

Research suggests that to restore equity, third parties prefer compensation of a victim over the punishment of a perpetrator. It remains unclear, however, whether this preference for compensation is stable or specific to certain situations. In six exper- imental studies, we find that adjustments in the characteristics of the situation or in the available behavioral options hardly modify the preference of compensation over punishment. This preference for compensation was found even in cases where pun- ishment might refrain a perpetrator from acting unfairly again in the future, and even when punishment has a greater impact in restoring equity than compensation does. Thus, the preference of compensation over punishment appears to be quite robust. Implications and ideas for future research are discussed