COVID cancer drug (IMAGE) Johns Hopkins Medicine Caption Cutaway view (left) of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, showing its double stranded RNA genome. During infection, the virus takes over a host cell’s DDX3 RNA helicase protein (right) to unwind the viral RNA and enable it to be copied. A new study shows that a Johns Hopkins Medicine-created protein, RK-33, can prevent DDX3 from carrying out this function. Credit Graphic created by M.E. Newman, Johns Hopkins Medicine, using SARS-CoV-2 graphic courtesy of Davian Ho for the Innovative Genomics Institute and DDX3 graphic courtesy of the Small Angle Scattering Biological Data Bank. Scale of virus to RK-33 is not proportional. Usage Restrictions -- License Original content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.