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LA Times: A mutant coronavirus has emerged.

TheSadRanger

TheSadRanger

Banned

[Scientists have identified a new strain of the coronavirus that has become dominant worldwide and appears to be more contagious than the versions that spread in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new study led by scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory.
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The report was based on a computational analysis of more than 6,000 coronavirus sequences from around the world, collected by the Global Initiative for Sharing All Influenza Data, a public-private organization in Germany. Time and again, the analysis found the new version was transitioning to become dominant.

The Los Alamos team, assisted by scientists at Duke University and the University of Sheffield in England, identified 14 mutations. Those mutations occurred among the nearly 30,000 base pairs of RNA that other scientists say make up the coronavirus’s genome. The report authors focused on a mutation called D614G, which is responsible for the change in the virus’ spikes.
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Although the researchers don’t yet know the details about how the mutated spike behaves inside the body, it’s clearly doing something that gives it an evolutionary advantage over its predecessor and is fueling its rapid spread. One scientist called it a “classic case of Darwinian evolution.”
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thumb_new-challenger-super-smash-bros-meme-new-challenger-approaching-youtube-53907123.png



WTF does the new spike do? :messenger_frowning_
 
Insane Metal

Insane Metal

Member
I mean... they're literally saying the virus has been around for some time. It's why a lot of people are dying in the US. So it's not really "new" as in "just starting now". Calm the fuck down.
 
D

Deleted member 1159

Unconfirmed Member
I read a critique of this article on my work computer earlier and basically it's way too early to worry about it, it's a sensationalist headline. I wish I had it to share a link but it was a twitter thread.
 
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Robot Carnival

Robot Carnival

Member
does these types of virus mutate so quickly? I mean, this has been around for what? 6 months? maybe a little more? is that already enough time for it to mutate like that? and I'm guessing people who's on the side of saying this virus was lab design will be yelling that this is proof or something... really not what we need right now /facepalm
 
Djau

Djau

Banned
Whatever kind Italy has looks to be the most lethal of all.

Robot Carnival said:
does these types of virus mutate so quickly? I mean, this has been around for what? 6 months? maybe a little more? is that already enough time for it to mutate like that? and I'm guessing people who's on the side of saying this virus was lab design will be yelling that this is proof or something... really not what we need right now /facepalm
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It...depends.
 
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Stouffers

Stouffers

Banned
What if the original Wuhan viral outbreak was just a cover to release the worse “mutant” version into Europe and ultimately the US?
 
zeorhymer

zeorhymer

Member
Viruses mutate all the time. The flu and cold are easy examples because every year we have the sick season. A lot of it may be more scare tactics. Just calm down and think about it. Viruses are similar to parasites. They just want to replicate. Guess what happens if the host dies, yep, the virus goes with them. It is not evolution's best interest to go killing their home, but they need to change in order to survive the meds we throw at them.
 
Duck In Ur Shirt

Duck In Ur Shirt

Neo Member
1. Why don't any of these news sites link to the study cited by the article? At least give the title. Even the original LA Times version lacks the citation. Anyways, I found it:

Spike mutation pipeline reveals the emergence of a more transmissible form of SARS-CoV-2

2. I thought that this was already known? Here's an article from a month ago saying the same thing:

A majority of cases on the West Coast have been linked to a strain first identified in Washington state, which is three mutations away from the first known strain, while on the East Coast, the virus seems to have come from China to Europe and then to New York, according to USA Today.

I guess the difference is the finding of the specific "spike mutation"?
 
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Djau

Djau

Banned
zeorhymer said:
Viruses mutate all the time. The flu and cold are easy examples because every year we have the sick season. A lot of it may be more scare tactics. Just calm down and think about it. Viruses are similar to parasites. They just want to replicate. Guess what happens if the host dies, yep, the virus goes with them. It is not evolution's best interest to go killing their home, but they need to change in order to survive the meds we throw at them.
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How many lives did the black death cost?
 
Alx

Alx

Member
Mutations can go either way, so we'll see how it turns out. Our best chance for a quick exit of the pandemic would be that the virus mutates into something harmless actually, but it's mostly random.
 
HoodWinked

HoodWinked

Member
It's neither bad nor good. If it's become more contagious it's less deadly by necessity. A deadlier disease is more isolating because it kills the host.

It's also probable that recovering from one could give immunity from either. Take smallpox they used to intentionally infect people with cowpox to achieve immunity.
 
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