Antibody-like proteins developed from the immune systems of nurse sharks can prevent the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 from infecting human cells, a University of Wisconsin researcher reports. The new research, reported in the journal Nature Communications, could eventually yield therapies that are effective against mutating viruses like the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2. The proteins are also effective against viruses that have yet to infect humans, including those that circulate in bats. The small antibody-like proteins, called Variable New Antigen Receptors (VNARs), were able to neutralize WIV1-CoV, a bat coronavirus that is capable of infecting human cells. “The big issue is there are a number of coronaviruses that are poised for emergence in humans,” said Aaron LeBeau, associate professor of pathology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who helped lead the study. “What we’re doing is preparing an arsenal of shark VNAR therapeutics that could be used down the road for …