A conversation with Dr. Harm van Bakel, a geneticist at the Icahn School of Medicine
Photo: Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images By studying the SARS-CoV-2 genome, researchers have been able to map the coronavirus’s spread around the world from its emergence in China late in 2019. A recent analysis done in China estimates there are now more than 30 strains of the virus spread out across the globe; in New York, a team of researchers at Mount Sinai traced the strain responsible for most of the city’s infections to Europe. Intelligencer spoke with Dr.
The pattern of those changes tells us something about the lineage of the virus. If a mistake is made early, it will be seen in all of the progeny. If a mistake is made later, it will only show up in some of it. By looking at the rate of the change of the virus, we can time some of those changes during the spread of the virus across the world.This is still subject to study, but roughly there is one letter change every two weeks.Most of the changes will be neutral.
What’s the relationship between your work and the work being done by researchers who are trying to develop a vaccine? Our work has really been focused on the strains here in New York and how the virus got to the city. We haven’t really looked at the origins. There are other groups who have done surveillance in animal populations, bat populations, pangolin populations, who are going to be more suited to make determinations on that.
Singapore Latest News, Singapore Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Currency expert says traders should pick Sweden's krona over the US dollarThe Swedish krona and Australian dollar look set to lead foreign exchange markets through the recovery phase following the coronavirus crisis, according to ING analysts.
Read more »
Expert report predicts up to two more years of pandemic miseryThe novel coronavirus is likely to keep spreading for at least another 18 months to two years — until 60% to 70% of the population has been infected, a team of longstanding pandemic experts predicted in a new report
Read more »
Columbia University expert: Americans are dying because we haven’t done the basics'Americans are dying by the tens of thousands because we’re not doing the basics...Let's look at how other countries are doing it. We're not so stupid in America that we can't learn from the others' — Jeffrey Sachs on U.S. coronavirus response.
Read more »
Enabling Productive Remote Work: Expert Tips For Staying Connected And EngagedWhether we wanted to or not, many of us now find ourselves working from home. We asked experts to share tips for staying productive, engaged, and connected. You'll be surprised by what they say (see 5).
Read more »
Infectious Disease Expert Spells Out Why Trump’s Rally Plan Is ‘Not A Good Idea’Harvey Fineberg reality checked the president, who hopes to hold a 'good old-fashioned 25,000-person' rally in the not-too-distant-future.
Read more »